The Man Next Door
by xMonkeesx
Summary: Unsuspecting Selene McHannoy gets a new neighbor when former Monkee Micky Dolenz moves into the house next door. Both have had some rough spots in life and are recovering from the bad hand life has dealt them. Just when their friendship begins to blossom, disaster strikes and an aging, recently divorced Micky Dolenz finds himself permanently disabled. Romance/Suspense/Drama
1. Chapter 1

-The Man Next Door-  
Part 1

The neighborhood was a semi-upscale area of town but it wasn't Beverly Hills by any means. Selene had inherited the house she currently lived in 2 years ago after her mother had passed away.

She was an only child so there was no one with whom to divide her mother's belongings. Her mother had passed away after a long battle with Muscular Dystrophy.

Selene looked out the upstairs bedroom window as she pondered one of the last photos of her mother prior to her death as she still considered whether or not she wanted to continue to live in the house. Today would be extremely difficult for her being the 2nd anniversary of the death of her mother. She knew that she would probably go to the grave site, leave some flowers, say a few words and then return home only to find herself once again alone in the somewhat palatial home.

It was almost 9 AM which meant that she had spent way too much time standing around pondering things she could do nothing about.

Selene quickly gathered herself together, got dressed from her pajamas and went downstairs to the kitchen. The kitchen had always been one of her favorite rooms in the house. She liked to cook and therefore spent a lot of time in the room. It was very inviting. The kitchen was painted in light browns leafy greens, earth tones. The kitchen smelled of spices and other such cooking ingredients that she used regularly in her extravagant recopies.

She opened the fridge and then realized that she didn't feel much like eating so she took out a can of Coke instead.

"Nothing like a cold Coke to kick start the day" she said aloud to herself as she pattered around barefoot across the tile floor.

Selene sat at the small table for two by the window facing the house that had stood empty beside her for a few months. She noticed as she sipped the coke that some moving vans were parked in the driveway and that furniture was being moved into the house. She contemplated who her new neighbors would be, what they would be like and whether or not they would be desirable. She still hadn't forgotten the previous neighbors who had lived there with their yip yapping pocketbook dog that just wouldn't shut up-ever. She was glad to see them gone and their little dog too.

As she watched, she saw several nice pieces of furniture being carried into the house, a piano among other musical instruments and then a couch.

"Must be somebody with a lot of money" she said to herself as she took another sip of the Coke from the can. "Maybe a musician or something."

After about 20 minutes of watching, finally a sports car pulled up in the driveway. It looked like a Mercedes of some sort. Black with white leather interior, a 2 seater convertible.

"Very hot car" Selene chuckled to herself with anticipation that came out of nowhere.

Just at that moment she noticed what she considered to be at first glance, a reasonably attractive man. The hedges were in the way so she didn't get a very long glimpse of him before he disappeared into the garage that connected to the house next door.

Selene finished the Coke she had been drinking and then realized that most of her depression and even the remembrance of her mother had faded for a brief moment as she had watched the events next door. She felt somewhat bad about being so nosy and enthralled with what her new neighbors were doing as well as the fact that she had temporarily forgotten her sorrows. She felt as though she should still be grieving her mother's death and that it was wrong to move on just now.

"Dammit!" Selene snapped as she attempted again to start the car. It didn't want to start again and she had just replaced the battery last week! She persisted a few more times in an attempt to start the car with no success.

She had just wanted to drive to the cemetery, put some flowers on her mother's grave and come back home for the day. Maybe even watch the new neighbors some more. That was likely going to be the highlight of her day.

Selene pulled the hood latch under the dash and popped the hood on the 1990 Chevy she had been driving for the last several years of her life. She had no idea what could be wrong with it but she had known for a few years now that it had been time for a new car. She didn't expect to find anything but she figured taking a look around anyway couldn't hurt anything.

"Engine, radiator, wiper fluid, alternator, battery..." everything looked alright under there-which probably meant there was a problem.

"Hi, I just noticed that your car wasn't starting, did you need some help?" a man's voice ask.

Selene turned around from the car to see a somewhat tall man, slicked back hair tied into a ponytail dressed in a classy looking black outfit.

"I am just moving in today so I was on my way back inside the new house when I noticed you" he added to what he had just said to her.

"The car's old. I'll just have to have it towed and get somebody to look at it again. It's not been long since I put a battery in it. Last week as a matter of fact." Selene responded.

"Selene McHannoy" she said as she stepped away from the car and moved toward the man next door and extended her hand for a handshake.

"I'm Micky, Micky Dolenz" He said, smiling at her while shaking her hand. There was something comforting about that little squeeze he gave her hand before ending the handshake. She smiled at him.

"Well, Selene, I don't mean to be keeping you from whatever it was that you were intending on doing but since the car isn't running perhaps you could direct me to the nearest convenience store. We've been moving in since early this morning and we're about half starved."

"Oh, there's one just down the road about 4 blocks and around the corner on the right. You can't miss it." Selene said.

"I would offer to let you ride with me since I was going in that direction but...well, the car isn't running obviously." She said as she turned to look back at the car sitting in the driveway with it's hood up.

"Where was it that you needed to go?" Micky asked her, his look shifting from extremely happy to a look of compassion.

"I - I was just going to drive to the cemetery and then back home again." She answered not really wanting to share her problems with him just yet nor wanting to say anything depressing.

"The cemetery?" he said.

"Yes, I wanted to put some flowers on my mother's grave." she added.

"Well, that shouldn't take too long and I need a break from moving so what if you direct me to that little corner store and I take you by the cemetery?" Micky asked.

"Ok, since your car is running and it isn't too far, that sounds ok. It would help me out a lot." Selene said as she turned to get her plastic flowers out of the passenger seat of the non running Chevrolet sitting in the driveway.

Micky walked over to the Mercedes parked in his driveway, hopped in and waited for her to come over.

Selene popped through the hedges and got into the car with Micky.

"This is a really nice car you have." Selene said to Micky as they backed the Mercedes out of the driveway and began to go down the road.

"I just got it a few months ago. It's a 320 SLK." Micky said.

Micky continued "I lost the house but I managed to keep my car in the divorce settlement." he said with a little bit of sadness.

As the short ride continued Selene and Micky continued to talk. Micky had been recently divorced from his wife apparently because she just decided that she loved someone else. He seemed to still be hurting from this event in his life but nonetheless he had left his wife with the house and another vehicle as well as a decent amount of money to live from. Selene told Micky a bit about her life as well, about her mother, about the car, about daily life in the neighborhood. There was something oddly familiar about this man Micky. She couldn't put her finger on it but she felt as though she should know him or perhaps had met him. She just couldn't figure it out. In particular his voice seemed oddly familiar to her for an unknown reason. There was an apparent age difference between the two of them. She had sized him up to be somewhere between 55 and 60 years old although he was very handsome and well maintained for a man of that age while she herself, was 27.

"The cemetery is over the next hill on the left." Selene directed.

Micky pulled the car into the cemetery, slowly drove around the circle drive and stopped the car.

"Where should we go from here." he asked

"Over there." Selene pointed just ahead.

Micky drove the car further around the circle drive in the cemetery until Selene asked him to stop. At that point he turned the car off, got out and stood beside the car as though he were soaking up the California sun.

Selene walked to the grave site, placed the flowers in the vase on the grave and spent the next 5 minutes or so at the tombstone. She realized that a tear had escaped her eye and was rolling down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away as she turned around to walk back to the Mercedes.

As she got into the Mercedes, neither herself or Micky said a word to each other for a few minutes. Before starting the car Micky looked over toward her. Her head was turned away from him. She was _intentionally_ looking out the window in the car rather than at him or straight ahead.

Micky realized that she was hurting and probably would like someone to talk to. He took her hand from her lap gently. She turned toward him almost surprised but a little shocked. She was at a loss for how to react.

"I know we were going to just grab something from that convenience store but would it be ok if we went somewhere a little nicer than that, maybe talk a little bit and get to know each other a little better since we're neighbors?" he asked in a sincere tone that she had never heard from a man before.

Selene almost stumbled the words out of her mouth. "Well, I suppose that would be alright. What kind of food were you wanting to eat?" She asked him

"What's close?" He responded as he started the car and drove out of the cemetery.

The two of them briefly discussed food and nearby eateries and settled on a little cafe about 4 miles from where they lived called The Coffee Bean. It was a nice little out of the way place with a calm serene atmosphere where you could go out to lunch and have quiet conversations without a lot of noise or background music. It smelled nice too.

Micky was enjoying his time away from moving into the house. After all he had hired some moving men to help out with the job and they should be just fine by themselves for a while. He was also secretly hoping that by it being only a little after 10:30 in the morning that perhaps The Coffee Bean would be empty and no one would run up to him asking him for an autograph. He suspected that Selene had no idea who he was, that he was a celebrity or even that he was a musician unless he had let that slip at some point during their earlier conversations.

The two of them ordered Chai lattes not intending to order the same thing-it just happened. They laughed about it and proceeded to order their lunch. Selene hadn't had anything to eat so far other than the Coke from earlier so she opted to order a flat bread sandwich while Micky ordered a sub.

Something caught Micky's attention on a nearby TV in the cafe, while he turned to look at that, Selene was looking at him. She was taking in every detail of his face, hair and style. She didn't want to let him know that she had become quite smitten with him at this point. She had no idea what it was about him that was so attractive to her since he was at least twice her age.

Micky turned back around after a minute or two of watching some little news blurb on TV. "So what is it that you do?" he asked her.

"I have a job as a part time singer at a local club. The rest of the time I try to be a writer but the singing job pays pretty well." she answered.

Micky looked a little surprised with that answer and almost told her that he too was a performer but refrained because he wanted to enjoy the innocence in the conversation a little longer before jumping right in and telling her about his past as a Monkee and a sort of teen idol of the 60s. He realized this was well before her time and he didn't want it to taint their friendship this early on.

"That sounds really interesting." Micky said. "What sort of stuff do you write about?" he continued.

"Mostly I write articles on local news items for a group of local newspapers but once in a while I get asked by local bands to review their latest CD." she said before beginning to suck the Chai latte through the straw and take a bite of her flat bread sandwich.

"I've been working on a novel-well, was working on a novel until a few years ago and I haven't been able to get in the mood to go back to that." she said.

As the conversation went on, Micky and Selene opened up a little more to each other. Micky told Selene about his marriage and divorce while Selene told him about her college days and then how she had dropped out of college to take care of her mother up until her death and then resumed online classes to finish her degree.

Micky realized that it was getting close to 11 which meant that there would be more people coming in for lunch. Up to this point, hardly anyone was in and out of the place. Mostly the local high schoolers who were out of school for the summer. He also realized that he had been doing more talking than eating and began eating the other half of the sub that he had ordered.

Just as he had that thought about it being nearly lunch time and people would be coming in, he noticed a couple of middle aged women looking in through the window. He tried not to turn toward them in an attempt to not be recognized but he just knew that it wasn't working.

"I think a pastry to go sounds really great" He said to Selene out of the blue.

"Mmmm hmmm, sounds really great she said as she chewed the last bite of her sandwich. I'll go get us some."She added.

Just at that moment Micky saw a way out.

"Selene, I think I left my wallet in the car, i'll be right back." he said as he got up, walked outside toward the two ladies who were peering into the window and hanging around outside the door. They were most likely waiting for him to come out because they didn't want to bother him while he was eating. They probably just wanted an autograph and a picture if they had a camera. It wasn't that he didn't want to be bothered by fans, it was just that he didn't want his fans to tip Selene off to his past as a Monkee just yet.

"Micky!" one of the two ladies screamed as he walked outside.

"Hello Ladies" he said back to them.

Both of the ladies nearly hung off him as they begged him for a moment of his time and an autograph. Once he had signed the autograph for them, talked with them very briefly and managed to get back into the Cafe he found Selene eating a pastry. She had apparently watched some of what had just happened outside.

" _Something's up with him._ " She thought to herself.

"I already paid for us, we can go. Here's your pastry." She said as she handed him something wrapped in a wax paper."

"You paid for mine too?" Micky asked.

"Yeah, no problem. It's ok." Selene said with a smile.

"You know, that's probably the most you've smiled all day today." Micky noted. "You're a pretty girl when you smile." he added.

Selene blushed. "Thank you." she said.

Micky walked ahead of her and opened the door to the Mercedes for her then walked around behind the car to the other side and let himself in.

"I can't believe that your ex wife decided that she just didn't love you." Selene said out of nowhere. "You seem like a really sweet guy to me." she added.

"It's complicated." Micky said "And I would rather not talk about what happened with us any further...at least not now. Maybe at a later date whenever I can handle it and whenever I've had time to move past it."

"I'm sorry." Selene said.

"No, it's ok, you didn't know. Don't worry about it. I didn't mean to sound rude or anything whenever I said I didn't want to talk about it. It's more like i'm just not ready to talk about it." Micky said.

As the two of them drove back toward their homes Micky asked Selene about her car. "Would you like for me to take a look at your car later today after I get my stuff in the house?"

"If it isn't too much trouble, that'd be great. Especially if you can figure out what's wrong with it and save me the expense of having it towed and having a mechanic look at it." She responded.

The two of them finished out the ride home by discussing the problems of the car with Micky throwing out suggestions as to a diagnosis. Before they knew it, they were home. Micky parked the car in his driveway, put up the top and switched the vehicle off.

Selene had watched how the top of the Mercedes had popped up out of the trunk, came over the top of the car and automatically latched shut. The sheer wizardry of the mechanics of this amazed her for an odd reason. It was just neat to watch. In watching the top go up and just sitting there pondering it, she hadn't realized that Micky had gotten out of the car, walked around to her side and opened the door. By the time she actually came out of her temporary brain fart, she felt a little embarrassed. Micky's hand was extended toward her as he looked down at her with those big brown eyes smiling at her.

She took his hand in getting out of the car and stepped out. That gentle squeeze was still there from earlier. She liked something about his hands too. He felt strong, yet gentle.

"I hope you wouldn't be offended if I were to walk you home." Micky said as he looked at her and grinned sheepishly.

"No, not at all." Selene said still holding his hand partly intentionally.

This time Selene walked around the hedges rather than through them into her driveway and to her front door with Micky beside her.

"I've had a nice time today." She said before going into the house.

"Me too." Micky answered smiling. "It felt good to go out with someone and just have a nice conversation and make a new friend.

"I'll come back say...around 5 or 6 this evening to take a look at your car. Maybe earlier if I finish moving things into the house." He said as he turned to leave her doorstep.


	2. Chapter 2

-The Man Next Door-  
Part 2

Selene had had a wonderful day even though the day wasn't even half over at this point. In fact, it was barely noon. She had so enjoyed hanging out with Micky even though they really hadn't been together all that long at all. She really had hoped that he would find another reason to go out somewhere with her again even if it was just as friends.

A little part of her for whatever reason seemed to want more than just a friendship.

"No, that won't happen, there's too much of an age difference." She said aloud to herself.

In fact, she had never really thought about a relationship with someone twice her age but she wasn't one to put limitations on things either based on age. She decided right then and there, that she would give it a chance if it evolved into anything more than a friendship and if it didn't, she would still have a good friendship.

She actually felt as though she were in the mood to write something today. She was a lot happier than she had been in the recent past so she thought she'd catch up on that novel of hers that she had mentioned to Micky.

As Selene began to write the pages poured over her computer screen one by one until she had written several. The hours passed quickly. In fact, she all but lost track of time. After at least three hours of writing without ceasing, she realized that she was quite thirsty and decided to go give her eyes a break from the computer screen and have a glass of water.

She went by the kitchen, grabbed the water and then walked back through the hallway that led to a back porch that was enclosed which then led onto a patio where she had some lawn furniture. The small back yard was closed in with taller hedges like the ones in front. As she sat there at the patio table, she observed that the hedges really needed trimming in a bad way. Perhaps she'd do that at a later date, not today. She felt motivated to make herself look presentable for Micky later on tonight even if he was just coming over to look at her car. She had no idea how long that would take but she had already decided that she would turn it into a dinner invitation. Cooking was her specialty. After all, it was the least she could do for him if he was going to look at her car and maybe fix it -or at least tell her what was wrong with it for free.

After finishing the glass of water, she returned to the kitchen and began taking inventory of her food items so that she could decide what she wanted to eat. She settled on something simple. A fancy spaghetti dish. After all, everyone loves meat, noodles, cheese and bread. This was also easy. She decided that she would make a cheesecake to go with it for an after dinner treat and got started on that immediately so that it was done and chilled by the time she would need it.

Upstairs in the bedroom she went through her wardrobe and tried on several outfits before she finally decided on an informal denim skirt and a peasant shirt with platform shoes. She was shorter than Micky so that wouldn't matter so long as the platforms didn't make her taller than him. She felt really awkward whenever she had went out with men in the past, worn the platforms and then ended up being taller than they were.

She applied a small amount of makeup just to even out her skin tone but she did not use lipstick. Instead, she used some hemp seed oil chapstick because it made her lips silky. She didn't really like lipstick anyway, especially if she planned to be eating. It would just wipe off.

By the time she was dressed she only had about 30 minutes before Micky said he would be over to look at her car. He had no idea that she was fixing dinner for him but if he needed to dress better or wash up he could easily just go back to his house, do that and return.

Selene ran back down stairs and pulled out some nice candles to put on the table then decided to put those away. She wasn't going to move too quickly with this even though she wanted to. She instead decided to just put out the cloth napkins and a fresh table cloth on the table for two by the kitchen window that faced Micky's driveway where she had been watching him from earlier in the morning. Everything was perfect. She would cook and prepare the pasta while Micky was looking at the car.

The door bell rang. She knew before she answered the door that it was Micky. She felt anticipation building up within her like she had never felt before but quickly calmed it telling herself once more that she wasn't going to move this thing along too fast and was going to let him make the first move if a move was to be made.

She opened the door to see Micky happily waiting for her.

"Hello again!" He said. She detected a tinge of excitement in his voice.

Out from behind his back he pulled a yellow rose. "A rose for the lady" he said extending his rose toward her.

Selene was stunned. Here was Micky just coming over to look at her car and he had brought her a rose. It made her heart flutter.

"Thank you!" she said to him as she flashed him her biggest smile and invited him in.

"I'll just go get a vase for this and be right back" She said as she directed him into the living room where she bid him to sit down. She left the room and went to the kitchen smiling as she turned away from Micky.

Micky looked about the house and saw a few pictures sitting on an end table as well as several pictures hanging on the wall that appeared to be family photos. Most of the photos included Selene, a person he presumed to be her mother and a few other additional people that he couldn't place.

" _Very attractive just like her mom_." Micky noted to himself as he picked up what looked like a fairly recent photo of Selene and her mother to look at it closer then sat it back down on the table.

Selene had found a vase for the rose and decided to set it in the windowsill beside the table she had prepared for two in the kitchen so that she could enjoy it while she was in the kitchen. She also couldn't get over Micky's appearance compared to earlier today. Earlier in the day he had been wearing what looked like a slinky designer outfit in black with black satin trim and this afternoon he had changed into faded jeans that were a bit snug in all the right places, sneakers and at-shirt. His hair was still slicked back in a ponytail and he looked hotter than ever in her opinion.

Not wanting it to seem like she had been gone too long for putting a rose in a vase, she thought it best to return to reality from her little daydream and get on back into the living room with Micky.

"So are we ready to go look at that car and see if we can figure out what's wrong with it?" She asked Micky.

"Sure, sounds like a plan. Let's take a look at it." He said as he got up off the sofa and walked across the room to the door opening it for Selene.

Micky hopped into the car, popped the hood and then came back around to the front to prop it up with the prop rod as though it were his own car.

"Get in and try to start it." He told Selene.

"Ok."

Selene got in and cranked the car. This time it cranked only a few times as she held the starter before it began to click.

"That's more than it done for me this morning whenever I tried to make it start." She said laughing a little.

"Ok, you said you had put a new battery in this thing last week so that shouldn't be the problem". Micky said partly to himself as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"What's that?" She asked him inquisitively.

"It's a volt tester." He said then began to explain how it worked. "You set your voltage for whatever you need to use it for and then you can test and see if the thing you're testing is working properly or receiving power, how much power it's getting or if it's getting too much. Sometimes this will help you narrow down the problem if it happens to be electrical.

"Oh." She said stunned a little bit not realizing that Micky knew so much about cars.

Micky tested the battery and determined it was working properly but whenever he tested the alternator in the Chevy he found that to be a problem.

"It's draining the battery." He said to Selene. "It's your alternator, it's crapped out. You just need to get another one for the car and it should be alright. You may have to jump start the car and let it run for a while to charge the battery back up but it isn't a major problem." he explained.

"I don't know how to fix an alternator." Selene said.

"Don't worry about it, I can take care of it for you. I know how to do it and it isn't that difficult." Micky said.

"Really?" She said

"Yeah." Micky responded.

"Micky..." Selene said as though she wanted to ask a question and didn't get it out the first time.

"Hmmm?"

"Would you like to come over and eat dinner with me tonight?" She asked and continued "I've fixed some food for us. I thought that maybe you might like that."

"That was thoughtful of you. I'd love to have dinner with you but I should probably go change my clothes or something before we do that since I'm not exactly dressed to code here." he said through a laugh at the crack at himself.

"I like the way you're dressed..." Selene said trailing off.

"Want to go get the part for the car first? We've still got a few more hours of daylight to work on it and we can probably get it fixed before dark then you'll be good to go tomorrow." he said.

"Sounds good. Shall we?" She said.

"Wait here, i'll go bring the car around." Micky said as he popped through the same hole in the hedges that she had popped through this morning.

In just a few moments Micky's Mercedes was sitting in her driveway and he had stepped out of the car to open her door. He was such a gentleman. Selene still wondered to herself what woman in her sane mind would just up and leave a man like this. She didn't know him that well but he seemed genuinely kind and considerate not to mention polite and a real ladies man.

As they pulled up to the auto parts store Micky turned to Selene and told her "Wait right here, i'll be back in a minute." She nodded at him.

A few minutes later Micky returned with the new alternator.

"Here, hold this. It's a little heavy so be careful with it." he said handing her the box with the sales slip stuck in the top of it.

"Don't lose that sales slip, you have to return the old one if you want the core charge refund." Micky added.

Selene pulled out the sales slip to look at it after realizing that she had allowed Micky to purchase this part for her. She wanted to know how much he had paid for it so she could at least pay him back for it.

"150.00!" She cried out. "Isn't that kind of expensive, Micky?" She said to him.

"No, that's about right, you get $50.00 back when you take them the old one so it's really only $100.00 for the part." he explained to her.

"No, I mean you paid that much for something for my car. I should have paid for that." She explained.

"Don't worry about it, you picked up the tab on lunch this morning." He quipped with a cute smirk.

"No, this is too much, I'll pay you back for it." She continued.

"Please, don't worry about it. I had a great time with you earlier today, it was relaxing and fun and quite honestly, it's the most fun I've had with a woman in a long time. Fixing your car is the least I could do." He explained, this time in a slightly more serious tone.

"OK, but I'm giving you back the core charge whenever I return the old one." She added.

Once back at Selene's place Micky spent about 20 minutes installing the new alternator in the Chevy while Selene went into the house to cook pasta and prepare dinner.

A while later the two of them enjoyed what turned out to be a wonderful dinner, shared conversation and had yet another wonderful time.

Micky seemed especially satisfied with his new found friend and their evening together. Selene was the happiest she had been in a long time and hoped that it wouldn't end and that she would have another excuse to see Micky soon. She didn't really want to go knocking on his door although at this point, she was pretty sure that he wouldn't mind in the least.

As the two of them finished dinner Selene brought out the cheesecake she had made earlier. It was a plain cheesecake but it was very thick and ultimately extremely rich in flavor. Micky's eyes widened as he smiled broadly.

"You're just trying to get me out of shape, aren't you?" He said laughing. "No, really this looks superb and I can't wait to try it!"

Micky picked up the server for the cheesecake, anxious to cut a piece of it before it was even on the table. It was then that Selene noticed that he had a slightly busted knuckle and a few scratches on his hands, probably from where he worked on her car earlier.

She sat the cheesecake down on the table in front of him and then gently touched his hand.

"Does it hurt?" She asked him

"Not anymore." He said smiling up at her while cutting a piece of cheesecake with the other hand.

"I'm gonna get you something for that after we finish eating. That car's old and has lots of rusty parts. You'll be lucky if you get by with no infection." She said in a motherly tone to him.

Selene disappeared into the downstairs bathroom for a few minutes and sifted through the medicine cabinet until she found some rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, bandages and Neosporin. Once she had returned Micky had cleared the table, put the dishes into the dishwasher and then moved into the living room.

Selene sat beside him on the couch setting the items she had collected from the bathroom on the coffee table in front of them . Micky just smiled as he sat in the couch watching her organize the items in the order for which she intended to use them on him. Cotton balls, alcohol, Neosporin and bandages.

"Ok let me have this over here." She said as she took his injured hand with the busted knuckle. It wasn't bleeding currently but it had a decent amount of dried blood covering the injured area.

"Don't hurt me, now." Micky said in a somewhat childish tone.

"I wouldn't do that for the world". She responded as she began cleaning around the injured area with rubbing alcohol.

Micky winced a little bit as some alcohol got into the open wound and stung. Selene switched from the alcohol to bandages and Neosporin. She neatly put a dot of Neosporin on the bandage and then placed that around his knuckle at which point she began to clean the rest of the little nicks and scratches on the back of his hand.

"You know, you shoulda been a nurse, you're pretty good at that." Micky said.

"I actually went to nursing school for a year or so but I didn't finish that. I decided I wanted to be a writer instead." She informed him.

"I'll remember that next time I get hurt and come over here to see you." He said.

Selene smiled and turned back toward the bathroom with the items she had used and secretly hoped that he would bang up a finger or something and have a reason to come back to her to be doctored. For some reason she got a little charge out of holding his hand while she was cleaning it for him.

When she returned Micky stood up from the couch and said "Well, it's getting rather late. Thanks for dinner but I really must go. I've got a lot of unpacking to do over the weekend."

"Ok, thanks for fixing the car and having dinner with me. I'll see you soon I hope." She said happily as he walked toward the door.

"Oh, one more thing, if the car doesn't start in the morning just come get me, i've got some jumper cables we can use. You will need to let it run for a little bit anyway before turning it off." He informed her.

"Ok, will do. Goodnight!" She said as Micky let himself out.

Selene decided to clean up anything that was left in the kitchen and then have a shower before watching some TV and then going to bed.

It was Saturday morning. Usually Selene liked to sleep in on weekends and lounge around the house but because of her day spent partly with Micky yesterday she really needed to get some things done so she rolled out of bed, immediately got dressed and then microwaved an omelet for a quick breakfast.

She had completely forgotten about what Micky had said the night before about the car needing to be jumped as she hopped into the Beretta, closed the door and turned the key. It wouldn't start.

"Shit!" she said aloud as she tried to start it again.

It was early and she didn't want to bother Micky at this hour. Ok, she would like to bother him, just not this early. It was 7 in the morning.

Just then someone pecked on her window and scared the living daylights out of her. She jumped and briefly screamed until she realized that it was Micky. She quickly rolled down the window which subsequently slipped off its track as it went down.

"Need these, hot stuff?" he said smiling as he held out a black and red cable with clamps on the end.

"Hot stuff." she thought to herself. She had no idea why he had just said that but she liked it. It excited her. "Yeah, I suppose I will be needing you to jump me." She said as Micky burst out in hysterical laughter at the remark obviously laughing at it in the perverted sense. They both laughed before Micky turned around and took on end of the 8 foot cable through the bushes. She heard a car start and he was back again at the other end of the cables.

"Pop the hood." He instructed as he walked around the front of the car. It was only at this point that she noticed that he was only wearing boxer shorts and a white V neck t-shirt. He was still in his pajamas. This gave her a chance to look him over a little more. Looking at the parts of his body that she could see, he didn't seem to be showing his age.

"Ok, start it and hold the starter until it starts." Micky said from the front of the car.

Selene started the car. It came back to life. She stepped out of the Beretta, walked around the front of the car where Micky had removed the jumper cables and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for doing that for me." She said sweetly in his ear before turning around to get back into the car.

"No problem. I was just going to be gone for most of the day so I got up and waited for you to come out so I could jump the car for you. I figured you'd need it and since I wasn't going to be home...well, you know." He explained and trailed off.

He waved at her as she backed out of the driveway.

Selene drove past a store that she hadn't stopped at for quite a while. A consignment shop that was on the far side of town. They had some items on the sidewalk for a clearance sale that they wanted to get rid of. She saw a box of old vinyl records for 2.50 and decided to buy them. She liked vintage stuff and she did have a record player at home that seldom saw a spin. She felt like playing it. There was something really satisfying about playing a record as opposed to a CD.

By the time she finally returned home it was around 2 PM, she hadn't had time to eat lunch and just wanted to be inside relaxing with a cool glass of lemonade.

She carried in all of the groceries and put them away along with the other items in the car. The collection of records ended up landing on the coffee table for the time being.

Selene noticed that her answering machine had a message. This was somewhat unusual since she had an unlisted number and barely anyone had the number. In fact, she hardly even got a phone call. This was the first in about a week.

As she walked around the kitchen organizing some of the things she had previously tossed into the cabinet, she listened to the message.

What it had to say stopped her in her tracks.

" _Hi, this message is for Selene, we have your friend, Mr. Dolenz here at Southside Hospital, he's been involved in an automobile accident and he requested your presence before having to be taken into surgery. Please try to get here as soon as you can._ " -BEEP.

Selene was frozen in time for that moment. She felt cold inside.

"Why did bad things always seem to happen to people around her." She wondered.

"First Charles, then mom, now Micky..." She began to cry. Charles was an old boyfriend of hers several years ago. They had had a rather serious relationship and were engaged to be married but he was killed by a drunk driver one night on his way home from work.

Selene attempted to compose herself and to prepare for the worse.

"Micky apparently isn't dead, he's just in surgery." She thought to herself. "But for what?"

She ran back to the Beretta, turned the key hoping it would start on the first try, it did, she nailed the accelerator in reverse and stalled the car after backing out into the road shifting from reverse to 1st gear. Once the car was started again and she had her bearings, she burned through all 5 of the gears on the 5 speed as she raced to the hospital on the other side of town. The radio was subsequently turned on from earlier today as a news announcement came across the airwaves.

" _Famous singer and songwriter Micky Dolenz, formerly of the 1960s television show has been involved in a serious accident in Southern California this morning with a semi. We are told that he was thrown from his 2004 Mercedes SLK and was barely conscious upon arriving at a local hospital. His condition is unknown at this time. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming_ "

Selene only half heard the radio announcement. She was barely even paying attention to the interruption until she heard mention of Micky's name.

Her first thought was "Oh my God, a semi, thrown from the car...and he was driving that convertible Mercedes with the top down no less."

She knew this couldn't be good.

Selene parked the car and rushed through the front doors into the hospital to the information desk. She frantically asked the lady there "Where can I find Micky Dolenz?" half out of breath from running through the parking lot.

"I'm sorry honey, if there's celebrities here we're not allowed to say anything about which room they are staying in or what their condition is." the older lady said in a snappish tone then added "this is a hospital anyway!"

"No, you don't understand, I'm a friend of his, the hospital called me and told me to come in!" She explained in a more frantic tone.

"He lives beside me, he just moved into the house yesterday...we had lunch together. I know him personally." She continued.

"I'm calling security if you don't leave at once young lady!" The older lady barked standing up and pointing toward the door.

"No, please. I'm not playing. I know he's been in a serious accident. The message said he would be here and the nurse on the other end said that he had been asking for me by name before surgery."

This seemed to interest the nurse.

"You knew he went to surgery?" She asked puzzled.

"Yeah, that's what the message said." Selene answered, nearly in tears again.

"Hang on a second." She said as she picked up the phone and dialed an internal number. She turned her back to Selene while she was talking to whoever was on the other end of the phone and then turned back around as she hung up the phone.

"Third floor The nurse in the waiting area will assist you when you get there." She instructed.

"Thanks!" Selene said as she ran toward the stairs. She had never really liked elevators and the stairs were already in plain view. She didn't want to waste time looking for the elevator or waiting for it to come down to the ground floor.

She darted up the stairs. Thankfully she had made a decision to wear comfortable weekend clothing today and not dress up in the least. Her sneakers really helped her out in this mini marathon she had been running.

Once she reached third floor, she was out of breath but still managed to find the nurse in the waiting area rather quickly.

"Selene?" The nurse said walking toward her.

"Yes, I am Selene. Where's Micky?"

"They are finishing up surgery on him. He should be in recovery soon." She answered.

She continued "Mr. Dolenz came in the ER only half conscious but he kept repeating your name and since he was unable to tell us anything else other than your address and to send someone to get you we figured that we should do that."

The nurse went on to explain what had happened. "Micky was driving down the road whenever a semi moved over into his lane catching the car and pushed it off the road into the median. The car flipped several times throwing Mr. Dolenz from it. Whenever he arrived we know that he had several broken ribs, a possible neck injury and some internal bleeding."

"Oh God!" Selene said not above a whisper. "Will he be ok?"

"It's too soon to tell. We will know more when Dr. Peterson comes out of surgery." The nurse said. "Please make yourself comfortable in the waiting room until then." She added before walking off to tend to another patient.


	3. Chapter 3

-The Man Next Door-  
Part 3

Selene sank herself into a chair in the hospital waiting room. She had only known Micky for a very short time but she felt this odd connection with him like she had felt for no one else- _ever_. Not even her fiance, Charles.

Her mind was flooded with thoughts of the worst possible kind. She wondered why Micky had requested her presence in the first place over that of another close family member. She just didn't understand that at this point. Minutes turned into hours, doctors came in and out of the waiting room to talk with other families of other patients who were currently in surgery. It was approaching 2 hours since she had arrived at the hospital and still nothing.

Selene couldn't take the emotional torment she was bringing upon herself any longer. She rose from her chair, walked around the corner to the nurses station and approached the nearest nurse.

"Nurse" she said, "I was told 2 hours ago that Dr. Pederson would be out soon with a report on Mr. Dolenz and I still haven't heard anything. Can you get any information for me?" She inquired.

The nurse picked up a phone on the desk and made a call apparently to the operating room or to someone else in the know about the situation, spoke quietly to whomever was on the other end of the line and then hung up.

"It seems that they are actually just setting him up in the recovery room right now."

Before the nurse could finish her sentence Selene interrupted "He made it through surgery!" She said with a happy tone. That had been some of the best news that she had heard all day but it quickly faded when the nurse continued.

"But you won't be able to go in and see him for about another hour until he's stabilized from the surgery." She added.

"He may even still be unconscious. He's suffered a pretty bad knock to the head and was going in and out whenever he was brought into the hospital." the nurse continued.

Selene returned to the waiting room for another hour and a half at which point Dr. Pederson finally approached her.

"Ms. McHannoy?" The doctor asked questioningly as he approached Selene.

"Yes sir." Selene responded as she stood up from her chair and walked toward the doctor.

"It seems that Mr. Dolenz had indicated for the hospital to contact you whenever he was brought in-well, in a round about way. He kept repeating your name over and over again and your address. We were only able to find you based on the address matched with a phone number that appeared in our 911 dispatcher's database. "

"So how is Micky doing now?" Selene interrupted.

"Well, that's what we need to speak with you about -at length." The doctor said with a sense of authority.

"Micky has suffered a severe concussion due to the head trauma he received in the accident. He has been put into a medically induced coma for a while until his body has time to heal a bit and stabilize from the events that took place. He was thrown from a flipping car so this was one of the more minor injuries he received."

With that, Selene turned a ghastly pale color as she prepared herself for what may come next.

Dr. Pederson continued "You may want to come over and sit down for the rest of the explanation of Micky's injuries." As he guided her to an area of the waiting room that was more private and quieter.

At this point Selene didn't really feel like speaking, she just needed to hear that Micky was going to be alright.

"Micky was taken into surgery mainly for internal abdominal bleeding caused by the impact of the accident. He lost quite a bit of blood but we were able to get the bleeding under control and managed before it got too out of hand. If he had of come in here a minute later he would have been a dead man."

"The next thing is the spinal injury. We have reason to believe that Micky suffered a spinal injury in the accident. All of the necessary precautions were taken but we are still rather certain that he has an injury that may or may not be reversible."

"What's that supposed to mean." Selene asked reluctantly, not really wanting the answer to that but knowing that she had to be told anyway.

"Mr. Dolenz will most likely experience some paralysis. We don't yet know the extent of it but we can tell you this much. He isn't going to be walking for a while even if the damage is reversible." Dr. Pederson explained.

Selene sat in the chair numb from what she had just been told. She wondered how this would effect Micky. He seemed like such a happy guy who enjoyed life. She recalled the conversation that they had had the previous day on their way back from the cafe. He had told her about several trips to the Grand Canyon and described it in such splendor and then there was the repeated trips to the beach for para sailing on weekends that he had told her about. He had even suggested that she try it sometime. What in the world would he still be able to do if he were left in this condition. She felt saddened for the quality of life that he would experience due to this accident. The thoughts kept racing through her head. She thought of her mother's last couple of years before she had passed away and how she had been completely wheelchair bound and had to be taken care of by another person. And then the 6 months leading up to her death when she was bedridden due to the disease that chewed away at every muscle in her body.

The thoughts were too dismal. She didn't want to think about it anymore. Selene felt something drip from her face. She had been crying and not even realized it until this point. She wiped away the tears and tried to turn them off but they just kept coming for a while. She couldn't help but think that nothing would satisfy her more right now than a big hug from Micky or even a gentle hand squeeze.

Just at that moment a nurse rounded the corner and said to her "Ms. McHannoy, could you please follow me?"

Selene sprang off the chair and followed the nurse. The only thing driving her at this point was adrenaline. She really didn't want to see Micky in the present condition. She knew that would be hard for her.

The nurse led her down the hallway, through a set of double doors to the recovery unit where she opened the door to a dimly lit room and bid her to enter first.

Selene walked into the room and saw Micky lying on the bed, apparently still in the medically induced coma. He was wearing a neck brace, had all sorts of needles and tubes going in and out all over the place to the point that she had lost track of them all and couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. Selene teared up again with seeing this and slowly walked around the bottom of the bed to the other side where there was a chair. It was at that point that she noticed how frail he seemed. His face was bruised and cut beyond most people's recognition but these were just surface wounds. If these were the only injuries he had suffered she would have been ok with it. He would have been ok. She was worried about the fact that he seemed to be being kept alive with machines and seemed to be on every kind of monitor known to man.

"He's in a medically induced coma right now but we will be bringing him out of that gradually over the next few days." The nurse stated as she checked Micky's vitals once more.

"C-can I touch him?" Selene asked through the remaining tears that she wiped away from her face as her voice cracked.

"Sure, in fact that usually helps bring them out of a coma faster if you talk to them and get their brain activity going again." The nurse said as she turned to walk out of the room.

"I'll be back in a little while." She called back to Selene.

Selene stood there beside Micky completely numb from what she had just seen and been told. On the positive side, they had said there was a possible chance of recovery from the injuries but they would have to identify the injuries before they would know anything further and in order to do that, Micky would have to be awake and out of the coma.

Micky looked rather peaceful lying there despite his condition. Selene very gently enclosed his hand that wasn't pierced with an IV in her hand.

"Please come out of this." she said quietly to the sleeping Micky.

 **2 DAYS LATER**

Selene had been at the hospital for the past 2 days sleeping in the room with Micky waiting to see if and when he would wake up and come around. There was still no sign of life however, he had been taken off of some of the machines that had previously been in the room which made her feel more optimistic that he was at least breathing on his own at this point. He had also been moved from the recovery room to another hospital room that seemed a bit more spacious, had a window with a lovely view of the city and a more comfortable chair.

A nurse came in with a tray of various needles apparently intended for Micky. "Medication time." The happy nurse said as she came into the room and proceeded to inject Micky both with needles as well as inject his IV with drugs.

"Just some drugs to help bring him out of the medically induced coma and to keep his immune system up. We'll be back with some pain killers later whenever he becomes conscious again." She said as she finished what she was doing and left the room.

"Drugs to bring him out of the medically induced coma?!" This was great. Selene was so happy to hear that he would hopefully be conscious soon.

She noticed that his hair had become a little rumpled and disheveled during his hospital stay and that bothered her because she wanted him to look his best even in this condition. His hair had been loosed from the ponytail. Probably hospital procedure like the one about jewelry and nail polish. She smoothed his hair down the sides of his head gently so as to not cause any pain or move anything else. She then took his hand and held it for a while as she leaned against the edge of the bed and talked to him quietly telling him stories about her previous club performances.

After a while she thought that she had felt that familiar gentle squeeze at her hand but it was so weak that she couldn't be sure of what she had felt. Her attention went directly to that.  
" _Was Micky coming out of the coma_?"she wondered.

She got a little closer to his ear and in a low voice so as not to aggravate him she said "Micky, are you in there?" as she squeezed his hand a little more. "If you're in there and you can hear me, squeeze my hand again." She pleaded. In a few seconds she felt his larger hand grip her smaller hand and he didn't let go right away.

"You're going to be alright, Micky. I've been here with you and I'm not leaving now." she said to try and reassure him-not that it would help the situation whenever he did come around and figure out what was going on. In fact, she expected him to be devastated.


	4. Chapter 4

-The Man Next Door-  
(Part 4)

Selene could see through those closed eyes of Micky's. She knew that he was coming around and that he very well may be awake soon. She pressed the nurse's button while continuing to hold his hand hoping that he would squeeze again to let her know that he was at least conscious.

"Micky, squeeze my hand again if you can hear me." She coaxed in a quiet tone of voice. She waited. Nothing. His hand lay in hers completely limp and lifeless. His chest rose up and down in a slow rhythm as he breathed. She leaned down in his ear just as she had done previously and spoke directly into his ear.  
"Micky, I'm here with you. Can you squeeze my hand again?" She said.

Just then she felt another little squeeze accompanied by what sounded like a very faint vocal sound.  
The nurse came in after being summoned by the nurse call button to check on the situation.

"Someone pressed the nurse button in the room. Is everything alright in here?" She said in an authoritative tone.  
"I think Micky is starting to come around." Selene told her.

"Has he opened his eyes or spoken to you?" The nurse asked, obviously interested in what had made Selene think that his condition had improved.  
"No but he has squeezed my hand twice after being asked to do so." She told the nurse.  
"That's some progress. We should monitor his brain activity over the next day or so in order to see if anything's changed." The nurse informed as she left the room.

The sounds were so loud. The beeping, buzzing, humming and talking. Oh so loud. Ear splitting loud. Nearly intolerable. Micky cracked open his eyes for the first time since the accident. He saw white at first and then things started to haze in. Things were a little blurry at first.

"What's happened to me?" He thought to himself.

"Where am I?" he thought again to himself as he attempted to move his eyes to see more of the place where he was laying.

At this point, he had realized that he was laying down in a bed, he had an absolutely pounding headache that was nearly intolerable and it smelled funny. He only then realized that he seemed not to be able to move too easily and that he seemed to be in quite a bit of pain. Micky tried to move his head to look to either side but was unable to do so. At that point, some kind of an alarm went off.

Several nurses and a doctor entered the room, switched off the alarm which was apparently attached to something in the room that had been triggered by Micky's shallow movement. Micky's bed was surrounded by hospital personnel.

"Hello Mr. Dolenz, I am Dr. Pederson." One of them said with a pleasant smile.  
At this point, Micky was trying to figure out exactly what had happened to him and still trying to shake off the after effects of being in a coma.

"You were involved in a very serious accident, Mr. Dolenz." Dr. Pederson continued as the nurses began doing various things around the bed, changing needles, putting medication into the existing IV and the like.

The doctor held up 3 fingers in front of Micky's face. "Can you tell me how many fingers are here?" The doctor asked Micky.

"Three…" Micky barely managed to say in response to the doctor's question.

"Do you remember your full name and date of birth?" The doctor continued.

"Yeah, George Michael Dolenz." Micky sluggishly responded.

"And the date of birth?" The doctor prodded.

"March 8th." Micky whispered.

"And the year?" The doctor continued to prod.

"45." Micky whispered again.

"Thank you Mr. Dolenz. It seems that you're brain functions are working well and that you haven't lost any memory at the moment. We will run some more testing to see how well you've recovered from the coma. Now we have a few other issues to discuss with the rest of your injuries." Dr. Pederson continued.  
Just at that moment, Selene walked in from the cafeteria. She had a bottle of Coke in her hand and had finished the last bite of the Snickers bar.

"Is everything ok in here?" She asked with a worried undertone in her voice.

"Yes, everything's fine, in fact, we're glad you're here. Micky's conscious and has been talking to us a little bit." Dr. Pederson informed.

Selene sat the Coke down on the table at the foot of the hospital bed and rushed around to the side where no one happened to be standing so that she could get a good look at Micky and let him know that she was there with him.

"Welcome back, Micky!" She said quietly as she brushed a piece of his hair which was no longer in the ponytail he was accustomed to wearing, off his face.  
Before Micky had time to respond to her Dr. Pederson pulled her aside to speak with her privately.

"We haven't told Micky anything about his injuries yet. He remembers who he is and that he was involved in an accident but we don't think he is alert enough to realize the extent of his injuries. We wanted to tell you so that you could be supportive of him whenever we tell him." The doctor explained.

"Ok, I'm listening." Selene said with a waiver in her voice.

"Micky has suffered a lower back injury that will most likely be a paralyzing injury." The doctor explained.

"Does that mean that he's going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life?" Selene asked.

"Initially, yes, however it is possible for him to make a recovery through therapy. At the very least, he will require equipment in order to move without the use of the wheelchair. Possible crutches or a cane at best. The worst of it is that he may not recover. This can be determined at a later date after some of the swelling goes down. For now, we've stabilized him and will monitor his recovery." The doctor continued.

One of the nurses pulled the privacy curtain around the bed to block out Selene and Dr. Pederson and proceeded to dress Micky's abdominal wounds at the site of the surgery. It was at this point that Micky realized that he had been being touched all along and hadn't felt any of it.

"Oh my God, what's going on here!" Micky thought to himself as he tried to pay closer attention to what was going on around him and also attempted to move his leg.

His leg wasn't moving. He tried to move the other one. It wasn't moving either. He realized next that he couldn't feel his legs. He then tried to move his arms. It was difficult and painful but they moved. He couldn't turn his head or raise his head up because of the neck brace.

"Nurse." Micky said in a squeaky whisper.

The nurse stopped what she was doing and looked at his face. "What?" She asked.

"Would you mind telling me what you're doing down there. I can't see you or feel anything." He said with an increasingly worried tone.

"I'm changing your catheter" The nurse responded.

"Oh God, what's wrong with me!" Micky screamed becoming increasingly agitated. Just at that moment, the doctor popped back through the curtain and the other nurse who had been in the room came around from the other side to restrain him from his attempt to thrash around in the bed.

"Micky listen to me" Dr. Pederson said "You've sustained a spinal injury, you're paralyzed but you might recover."

Selene was still standing on the other side of the curtain by this time tears had stained her face. She was hurting for Micky and wanted to comfort him but not while all of the doctors were surrounding his bed. They needed to get him contained and let this sink in first. She felt that once he got over the initial shock of what he had been told that he may be more open to talking about it and being comforted.

After a short while, Micky became increasingly weak and stopped resisting the hospital staff and their restraining. They had explained to him that he couldn't be flopping and flailing around like that because he may do further damage to himself until he healed up.

Dr. Pederson came out from behind the curtain just as the other nurses cleaned up supplies and pulled the privacy curtain back. The nurses left the room.  
"Selene, we've given him a Valium to keep him calm for now. You should talk to him and try to make him feel better so that he can recover otherwise." The doctor explained.

"You sure as hell picked a fine way to tell him about his injuries" Selene shot back at the doctor.

"Dropping the bomb on him all sudden like that!" She scolded.

"He would have figured it out anyway very soon. We didn't want to scare him any further by not telling him and letting him wonder what was wrong with his body." The doctor explained. "He had to know"

"Can he sit up in bed?" Selene asked the doctor.

"Yes, that should be alright if he wants to try it." The doctor responded.

After Dr. Pederson had left the room and Selene had time to better compose herself she approached Micky's bed. She found him laying there on his back looking up at the ceiling, tears streaming down either side of his face.

"Are you in pain?" She asked him as she stroked his hair again, putting it behind his ear.

"No." Micky whispered, still staring up at the ceiling. "I can't feel anything." He added.

At this point, Selene had to bring Micky out of the trans he seemed to be in.

"I'm going to raise the bed up." She warned him.

Selene reached for the button that would raise the upper portion of the bed to a sitting position and slowly raised Micky up to a low sitting position. At least he could see around the room now and out the window a little bit rather than just looking at the ceiling.

"Thank you." Micky whispered as tears continued to drip from his eyes.  
His eyes shifted from being fixated on the wall in front of him to Selene.

"Are you going to be staying here?" Micky asked her.

"Yes, of course. I've been here the whole time." She reassured him "And I won't leave you here alone." She continued.

"I'm scared." Micky said once again in a whisper. "I don't want to be alone like this." He said.

"Micky, you don't have to worry about that. I'll stay with you." Selene firmly reassured him.

With that, Micky started to nod off into what was probably a medically induced sleep and as he did, Selene gently moved in close to him and gave him a hug resting her head on his shoulder briefly before returning to the chair beside the bed.

A full 2 months later, Micky was released from the hospital. He had recovered from his other injuries and had been receiving daily therapy for his spinal injury with good prognosis.

"Dr. Pederson said you can leave the hospital today and go home." Selene chirped as she came into the room with a plastic bag of clothing, handing it to Micky who was sitting up on the bed. He had finally been able to lose the neck brace which enabled him to turn his head now.

"What's in the bag?" He inquired.

"I brought you some clothes because I thought you might feel more comfortable wearing your own stuff rather than hospital stuff." She answered.  
Selene laid the clothes out on the bed where he could reach them. She had taken his keys from the bag of personal effects the hospital had left with him in the room and went into his house to get the clothing. She had selected only those items which would fit loosely and be comfortable. A loose fitting T shirt, relaxed jeans and some sandals.

"Can you help me get dressed?" Micky asked as he blushed.

"Yeah, I think so." Selene asked.

This was the first time that the nurses hadn't helped him change clothes but this was also the first time that he had worn anything other than a hospital gown as well. Selene had dressed dummies enough in the one year of nursing that she had taken a while back and also assisted her mother with the daily routine of things. This shouldn't be a problem for her but for some reason she felt weird about it.

Selene helped Micky pull the shirt over his head and then helped him pull the pants over his lifeless legs, up his thigh and then up around his butt into the correct position. The sandals were the easiest. He was now dressed. She went back to the bag and pulled out one more thing—a hair band—and walked back over to where Micky sat on the bed.

She sat on the bed in such a way so that she could lean him forward and be behind him so that she could comb through his hair with her fingers and fix it in a ponytail much like she had seen him wearing. Now he looked like Micky again.

"Let's get ready to go." Selene instructed as she left the room and returned with a wheelchair.

She rolled the chair beside the bed where Micky sat and along with the help of one of the nurses, assisted Micky into the chair. He positioned his feet on the footrests and then Selene pushed him out of the hospital, into the parking lot where her Beretta waited for them.

Selene stopped the chair just beside of the Beretta leaving enough room for the passenger side door to open and for Micky to slide into the car from the chair. Micky was able to transfer himself from the chair to the car seat with little to no difficulty and then pull his legs into the car, arranging his feet in the floor.

Once Micky was in the car, Selene folded the chair and placed it in the trunk of the car, then came around to the driver's side of the car.  
"I see that the car's still running." Micky noted as she started the vehicle.

"Thanks to you." She responded happily. "You know, I've always enjoyed driving this car even though it is just a beater." She added.  
Micky looked out the window as the Beretta exited the hospital parking lot.

"What's wrong?" Selene asked.

For a split second, Micky realized that he had been thinking about other things and snapped his attention back into reality.  
"I was just thinking about my Mercedes. I liked that ride a lot too. It was a hot little ride." He trailed off.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up something like that." Selene said, realizing that she had inadvertently brought up something that seemed to sadden Micky. After all, he wasn't going to be driving again anytime soon and she knew this was just one more thing that he would no longer be able to enjoy.  
Micky looked across the car at her and said "You didn't mean to." He said in a tone that showed obvious depression and then turned to look out the window again.

As the Beretta neared the neighborhood where the two lived, the sun was high in the middle of the sky. It was just a little before noon. The days were getting slightly cooler this time of year.

Selene pulled the Beretta into Micky's driveway as close to the house as she could get then got out of the car to assist him in exiting the car. On her way around to the passenger side, she stopped by the trunk and pulled out the folding wheelchair for him.

Once in the wheelchair, feet arranged properly and ready to move again, Selene pushed Micky up the driveway into the garage and through a door that appeared to have a makeshift ramp. It was actually a piece of wood that Selene had placed there specifically for Micky so that he wouldn't have difficulty getting the chair in and out of the house.

"Did you put that there?" Micky asked, pointing to the piece of wood after getting inside the house.

"Yeah, I put that down whenever I came here to get some of your things because I noticed that the house wasn't accessible. It was a piece of wood that we used with my mother whenever she needed to get in somewhere where there was a small step. It works for one or two steps." She replied.

"Well, that was nice of you. I appreciate it." He said back.

"You hungry?" Selene asked him as she approached the kitchen table to sift through some papers that were laying there.

"Yeah, food sounds good." He said, sounding a little happier with that thought. "What are we going to have?" He added.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I went shopping the other day and bought some stuff since I knew you'd be coming home." She said as she continued looking over the papers.

"Micky, I've got to tell you about a few things. While you were in the hospital I took your keys from your bag of personal items and let myself into the house. I brought in your mail and paid the bills that were going to be over due with a credit card I found in your wallet. I hope that you are ok with that. I didn't mean…" She stopped as Micky motioned for her to stop talking.

"It's ok. I usually pay the bills with the credit card anyway. I'm just glad that the power is on and the water is still here. It's nice to know someone was taking care of things for me while I was in the hospital. I really didn't expect that." He answered moving near the table.

"I've organized the rest of the bills that weren't over due for you to pay on your own in this stack." She said picking up a stack of opened envelopes that she had rubber banded together.

"Thanks Selene, you're the best." Micky said with a smile.

"Ok, food." Selene said as she brushed around Micky and approached the fridge.

"I was thinking of making Monte Cristo sandwiches." She said to Micky. "Do you like those?" She added.

"Sounds great." He said.

20 minutes later dinner was ready. Micky had cleared the papers off the table and took them to another room where he had a desk and returned to the kitchen with Selene where he found the table set with just about everything except silverware and glasses. Instead it appeared as though they were going to eat with their hands and have Coke in a can.

"Cheese sticks." Micky said "Those are my favorite."

"And I've made some sauce to go with them." Selene added.

The two of them ate the sandwiches and cheese sticks and shared conversation for several hours until Selene realized that it was nearly midnight.  
"I should be going home. Will you be alright by yourself?" She asked Micky.  
"I think so." He said.

Selene could tell that he wasn't completely sure of that. She wasn't really comfortable leaving him alone in his condition. He hadn't regained his full upper body strength as of yet and he was still adjusting to being confined to a wheelchair. Nonetheless, he sounded pretty content for someone in that condition.

"Ok, I'm going to go home." Selene told him "But if you need anything at all please call me." She said as she wrote down her phone number on a piece of scrap paper for him placing it on the table within his reach.

"I'll come back in the morning to check on you if that's ok." She said.

"Please do." Micky said as she left.


	5. Chapter 5

-The Man Next Door-  
(Part 5)

Micky was alone now for the first time since his accident. This was the moment of truth that frightened him. He would find out tonight whether he would be able to live independently or whether he would require assistance. He didn't want to require assistance. The thought of becoming a disabled old man who had to have his own nurse did not appeal to him in the least. It was ok while he was at the hospital because nurses work there. They're just there by default but when you have to employ one at your home because you can't take care of your needs on your own it becomes a problem.

While all these thoughts were going through Micky's head, he realized a few other things. He did have some needs that would have to be met before too long. He had a slight headache at the moment probably brought on by stress and the Ibuprofen was located on one of the higher shelves in the medicine cabinet that he couldn't reach. He would just have to forego and suffer the mild headache for the time being. He wasn't going to call Selene over not being able to reach the pills.

The next thing that he noticed was that he couldn't call Selene if he wanted to because his phone was somewhat out of reach. He could probably knock the receiver off the wall and catch it but dialing the number would be another problem all its own. He remembered a cordless phone in the office and the other phone upstairs. This problem sort of solved its self. Nonetheless, he decided to go get one of those cordless phones just in case he should need it. He was thinking of attempting to take some form of a bath and refresh a bit before attempting to sleep. He wanted to sleep in his shorts tonight. He found that more appealing than the attire he had been given at the hospital which consisted of not so much.

Micky rolled himself into the downstairs half bath where there was a pedestal sink that he could easily access. He found some towels and a washcloth, laid those on the sink and proceeded to remove his shirt. He still smelled like hospital and he hated that. He wanted that smell off him as well as the memory of it all. There was a nearly fresh bar of soap on the sink that he couldn't wait to use. He filled the sink with warm, almost hot water, soaked the washcloth in the water and then spread it across his face tilting his head back for a few minutes. This felt wonderful. After a while, he proceeded with minimal washing. There's only so much you can wash from a sitting position in a wheelchair.

Not really feeling like picking up the shirt that he had just removed and tossed in the floor, he dried himself off and left the bathroom.

"Shit." Micky said to himself as he realized that the rest of his clothes were upstairs in the dresser as was a very comfortable bed that he couldn't get to because of the stairs. There was the guest room downstairs but the extra bed wasn't set up yet and he couldn't do it by himself. He would have to get Selene to help him with that tomorrow perhaps. For now, he would settle for the recliner in his living room. After all, he had dozed off many times before in this chair and had been perfectly content to do so.

After transferring himself into the recliner from the wheelchair, he switched on the TV for a little bit of relaxation before going to bed. He didn't want to think about his injuries at this particular moment because he was feeling rather well despite them and was just glad to be home.

Eventually he dozed off to sleep leaving the television on. It was around 2:00 in the morning.

Selene woke up to her alarm clock at promptly 6 AM as she had been doing now for years. She seldom slept in on a week day. She woke up feeling well rested, dressed herself and then went downstairs to have breakfast. On her way to the kitchen, she picked up her laptop. As she ate breakfast she performed several searches on Google using the search term "Micky Dolenz." Which brought up numerous websites as well as some news items about the recent accident. She picked a website that had a biography in the description.

"Child star, Circus Boy in the 50s, The Monkees in the 60s, director, actor." She said aloud to herself as she read and the list continued. She came back to The Monkees. Something about this group was oddly familiar to her. She couldn't put her finger on it right away but then she saw a picture of the "More Of The Monkees" album cover and recognized that green album. Yes, she was pretty sure that it was one of the albums that happened to be in that stack of records that she had purchased before Micky's accident. She dropped what she was doing in the kitchen and quickly went to the next room to find that stack of records that she still hadn't listened to or played. Sure enough, there was "More of the Monkees" in the stack.

"Micky looks so young." She said aloud as she passed her hand over his image on the cover. She went into her mother's room where there was a record player and put the record on. She listened to the songs that the group sang until "I'm A Believer" began. She listened to it once through and played it again. This was what Micky sounded like. She couldn't believe it. He sounded absolutely wonderful. She wondered if he still sang like that or if he had completely retired from show business. She would have to compliment him on his vocals next time she saw him.

"Speaking of Micky, I'd better stop by over there and see how he's doing." She said to herself as she returned to the kitchen to clean up what was left of her bowl of cereal and to put away the laptop.

Selene approached Micky's door and tapped on it quietly before using the key that she still had from previous entries just so that he would know she was coming in. She let herself in and closed the door behind her. She didn't see or hear anything.

"Micky." She said in not more than a loud whisper as she walked further into the house.

"Dirty dishes from last night. I'll have to clean those." She noted as she passed by the sink.

She went further and realized that the TV was turned on. She approached the living room and peeked around the corner to find Micky still in the recliner from the night before. He was sleeping right where he landed. Micky was still shirtless, only wearing the pants that he had been wearing the day before. Selene felt herself beginning to stare at him because she found him incredibly handsome even if he was beginning to lose some of his tone and show his age.

Selene pulled a blanket off the couch across the room and gently covered him. He had chill bumps on his arms and torso. She couldn't resist so she lightly kissed him on the cheek before making her way to the kitchen to clean things up a little bit. She began by putting all of the dirty dishes into the dish washer and then began to prepare Micky's breakfast. She had no idea what he liked to eat during the morning so she just went with what was already in his fridge—eggs.

Selene managed to make a stuffed cheese and veggie omelet for him along with some bacon and some biscuits. She only then remembered that she had done the grocery shopping so she had no idea whether he would like it or not but went about it with the mentality of "everyone likes eggs, bacon and biscuits, right?"

For a drink, she brewed up some hot black tea in the kettle.

Micky awoke to the whistle of the tea kettle and the scent of freshly cooked breakfast mingled with the sweet pleasing scent of tea. He first imagined that he was a child again at the home of his parents because this scent reminded him of that but then he woke up fully and realized that there was still food and the scent was coming from his kitchen. He knew it hadn't cooked its self. He hoped that the hospital hadn't sent anyone by to start taking care of him this soon or to check on him.

He fumbled with the blanket only half realizing that it had been there as he looked toward the door and saw Selene coming out from his downstairs bathroom with his towels, shirt and washcloth from the previous night on her way to the laundry room.

"Morning, sunshine." She said happily over her shoulder as she walked into the laundry room and tossed the items to be washed into the hamper.  
"Hi." Micky said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

He attempted to move from the recliner but found himself somewhat stuck in the plushy overstuffed chair.  
"This isn't good." He muttered aloud as he attempted once more to transfer himself from the recliner to the wheelchair with his legs not functioning in any way to his favor.

"Would you like some help?" Selene said as she appeared once more in the doorway.

She didn't give him time to answer that question. She could see that he was in need of assistance in order to get out of the comfortable recliner.  
"Hug me." She said as she bent forward weaving her arms underneath his expecting him to put his around her waist and hold on while she tugged using her own body weight as leverage against his to slide him out near the edge of the recliner. "God, this feels good." She said to herself as she helped him.

"Thanks." Micky said as he proceeded to move himself into the other chair.

Micky wheeled into the kitchen where there was a place setting at the table for him. He noticed that the chair was moved so that he could just access the table without having to first move it. Selene was good at this. She was good at caring for him without making him feel like he was a displacement or a burden.

Selene served the breakfast that she had made him and poured them both a cup of tea. She sat down across from him at the table placing a sugar bowl between them then proceeding to put several spoonfuls of sugar in her tea.

"I like it sweet." She said as Micky watched her do this. "Real sweet." She added.

Micky laughed at that a little bit as he put only one spoonful of sugar in his tea then tasted it. He then cut off a small piece of the extra fluffy omelet on his place. The cheese oozed out of it along with some of the other stuffing that she had placed inside. He put it in his mouth. The next few seconds were complete heaven.

"Selene, you're a wonderful cook. I love this. It taste wonderful. I've never had anything that tasted this good made for me anywhere." He complimented as he took a few more bites.

"Glad you like it. I had wondered what kind of food you might like. I just went with what was in the fridge temporarily forgetting that I had done your shopping prior to your coming home."

There was a short moment of silence between the two of them and then Selene abruptly began talking again.

"Micky, I know who you are." She began. With this comment, Micky sat down his fork and gave her his full attention.

"I know you were with The Monkees in the late 60s and I just wanted to tell you that I think your voice is great. I loved I'm A Believer when I heard it."  
Micky gave her an odd look and then said "Well, you were bound to find out sometime. I had just hoped that you wouldn't. You had a sort of genuine innocence about you that I had enjoyed. It's kind of fun having a friend who doesn't realize that you're a celebrity. Even those people close to you can't forget you're a celebrity and treat you like a normal person all the time."

"It doesn't mean anything has to change." She said back to his remark.

"I just wanted to pay you a compliment." She added, obviously somewhat regretful of her comment.

Micky saw that he had slightly upset her. Her deep brown eyes had somehow changed and he could see the change of emotion. He quickly responded by reaching across the table to take her hand in his and saying "I didn't mean it that way. I know you're still you and that since you found me out it doesn't change anything. It just gave me a chance to get to know a real person for a change."

"It's ok. I'm fine." She said as she put her other hand on his.

"So how'd you find out?" He asked

"Well, when you were in the accident, I had been driving down the road with the radio on and I heard them mention your name and then I saw you on the local news a few times after that while I was in the waiting room at the hospital. Things get blurry from there but just this morning I googled your name on the internet, saw an album cover and then realized that the same album was in with a pile of LPs that I purchased before your accident that I hadn't even listened to yet. I decided to give that a listen this morning for the first time and I just really enjoyed it. Personally I think your voice would harmonize well with mine. I was singing along with some of the songs testing some of that out." She said.

"I see." Well, it sounds purely accidental that you found me out. I'll let you off on that one." He said jokingly as he finished the last bite of the omelet and moved on to the last little bit of tea.

Selene put the remainder of the dishes into the dish washer, switched it on and left it.

"Selene." Micky said to her back as she began to walk into the laundry room. She turned around to face him to see what he wanted.  
"Nevermind." He replied.

She continued in the laundry room as he rolled out onto the sun deck on the rear of the house through the sliding doors. He couldn't get off the deck because of the stairs leading down to the yard but it was nice to be outside nonetheless.

He needed some time to think about things and decide how he wanted to handle things in his new condition. He was attempting to refrain from getting depressed but it really wasn't working. In fact, he wanted to be depressed and he wanted someone to hold him while he let it all out but he couldn't do that. Not with Selene. Not now. He was finding that he liked her immensely and didn't want to become a bother to her. He didn't want to lose her companionship right now because she was the only thing getting him through his days confined to a wheelchair. She made him forget about it whenever she talked to him and whenever he was reminded of it, she made it better by not doing things intentional or not to rub it in. She tried to not even make it obvious that she was being assistive to him. He didn't want to tell her about last night's escapade but he would have to ask someone for help sometime if he ever wanted to take a proper bath again and that would be a requirement soon enough. He also had the issue of being able to get to the bed and if he continued to sleep in the chair, being able to get out of the chair without assistance. He already knew that he didn't have the agility at this point to get out of that chair by himself. It was just too plush and overstuffed. It swallowed him whenever he sat in it. That's why he had bought it originally. He liked how it hugged up around him. Most nights, the chair was more welcoming than his ex wife.

After having this lengthy ponder out on the sun deck, he decided that he would ask Selene to go shopping for him and pick up a few things that would help him and possibly ask her to help set up the guest bed in the downstairs bedroom if he couldn't get anyone else to come and help him do it.

Just then Selene tapped on the sliding door's glass at him and slid it open.

"Can I come out?" She said as she walked onto the sun deck.

"Oh hey, yeah sure, come on out for a while. It's nice out here." He said.

"This is beautiful. Maybe we can have dinner out here one night." She added.

"Sure." Micky said with a smile looking up at her as she walked over behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "That'd be wonderful." He added.  
"Selene?" Micky said as he had said before earlier. "Can you do me a favor."

Before he was even finished she agreed to the favor.

"I'd like to make you a shopping list and have you pick up some things for me. I'll give you my credit card so you don't have to pay for it out of your money but I need a few things around the house." He explained.

"Ok, you just make your list and consider it done." She said. "I'm going to go clean up the house a little more for you. You'll feel better being in a clean house."

Micky went back into the house to his office area where he found a pad and pen and began to make out his list.

" Bath chair, pillow, grabber on a stick, crutches…" The list went on.

Meanwhile in the other part of the semi-large house, Selene had already formed her own conclusions as to why she had found Micky in the chair. She had noticed that there wasn't a bed downstairs and that the only bedroom that was set up was upstairs. She had also noticed that he had no access to the shower in the downstairs bathroom which would obviously make it difficult for him to do anything. Just as luck would have it, she found a bottle of Ibuprofen upstairs in the bedroom that belonged in the medicine cabinet. It was at that point that she realized that he didn't have access to about half the stuff in the house that he needed on a daily basis.

Selene decided that it would be ok to dismantle the bed upstairs and move it downstairs. After all, she had moved herself into the house next door without problem. Her mother certainly wasn't able to help her in her condition. She brought the bed frame downstairs and into the guest room and then returned to slide the mattress down the stairs along with the box springs. She proceeded to reassemble the bed and had it set up in a matter of less than 10 minutes. She ran back upstairs to fetch some fresh sheets and blankets for the bed. Once the bed was ready she went to get Micky.

"Micky." She said as she followed the sound of clicking from the keyboard in the study until she found him.

"I've moved some things around for you. I hope it helps and you don't mind." She said.

"I know why you spent the night in the chair so I brought your bed downstairs. You can sleep in your bed tonight. It's all ready for you. She said.

Micky sat there in silence for a moment then said "Thank you, you're something special." To Selene before rolling out from behind the desk toward her. He moved close to her then ask "Can I have a hug?"

Without saying a word, Selene bent down and was swallowed in a Micky hug. It felt great. She could feel a good vibe coming from him. She held him in the hug as long as she possibly could without seeming clingy.

"I made my list!" Micky exclaimed as he turned around to the desk to get it for her.

She read over it briefly and then looked up at him from the paper. "I think I can help you out here." She said. "I'll go round up some things and be back later." She added.

Selene shoved open the door to a storage shed in her back yard where she had piled up a lot of her mother's things in attempt to get most of the stuff out of the house. It was pretty difficult for her to have those items laying around where she saw them all the time but she wasn't ready to let go of a lot of it just yet. Among other things there was some equipment stored that her mother had found most helpful around the house. A bath chair, the crutches, a cane, another wheelchair and the grabber stick.

"That's just about everything on Micky's list." She said to herself as she folded up the piece of paper and stuffed it in her jeans pocket.

She returned to Micky's house via a passage she had newly made in the shrubs between their two back yards with the items requested.

"Hey Micky, I'm back." She announced as she entered the house with the items. She continued through the house to place the crutches and cane in the bedroom and the bath chair in the shower for him.

"His clothes are still upstairs." She reasoned so she went upstairs without even thinking about where Micky might be to get some clothes that she could put in the downstairs closet. She selected mostly loose fitting clothing from his wardrobe but at the same time noticed that he had several nice suits and a nice hat collection. It seemed that he had a special taste for fedoras.

She grabbed two of his hats and took those with her downstairs.

Just as she was finished placing the items in the closet and about the room, Micky rolled around the corner into the doorway.

"Thanks for doing that for me." He told her.

She approached Micky "It's no trouble at all. I'm happy to help any way I can." She said as she patted him on the shoulder.

"You know what?" She said.

"What?" Micky said, curiosity obviously piqued.

"Your hair needs fixing big time." She said to him through a giggle.

It had only occurred to her that his hair was a mess from being slept on the night before in the chair and that he had not taken the time to round it all back up into a slick ponytail on the back of his head. To say the least, it was a bit frizzy.

" I can fix it but I'll need you to get my hair gel out of the cabinet." He said to her.

The two of them went to the bathroom, Selene put the hair gel on the sink and handed him a brush.

"Thanks." He said as he took the brush and then realized that a shower chair was sitting there waiting for him as well.

"Would you mind if I fixed myself up a little. I've been running around here this morning with no shirt on, smelling like a pig and looking like a half bald little old man with a bad comb over." He explained.

Selene laughed hard at that. "You're cute." She said without thinking. "You might want to go pick out your clothes before you get in the shower." She advised as she pulled the door up and left the room.

Micky wheeled over to the bedroom and noticed the clothes that she had hung neatly in the closet. He picked out a pair of jeans and a Hawaiian print shirt. She had thought of everything. His underwear and socks were neatly folded and laid out on an end table that had been tucked in the closet within his reach. He took a pair of each and with everything in his lap, returned to the bathroom.

While in the bathroom he found it somewhat difficult to remove his pants but after a bit of a struggle, he made his legs cooperate. He then transferred himself to the chair in the shower stall, pulled the curtain and turned on the faucet testing the water temperature. He hated cold water in the shower.

Once the temperature was acceptable, he turned the shower on and let the water flow down over his face and plastered his hair to his head. He hadn't actually fixed his hair whenever Selene had left. He would fix that after his shower. The water ran down his face and dripped off his chin down onto his torso where it continued to run down. It was at that point that he realized something else interesting. He could see the water on his legs but he couldn't feel it at all. It was as though he wasn't even attached physically to his legs. He didn't like to think about this. It reminded him of how needy he really was. He refrained from thinking about this any further and instead picked up a bar of soap that had been put there apparently by Selene earlier and began soaping up. He found this a little difficult not being able to step out from under the water so he switched the shower off temporarily until he was satisfied that he was soaped enough to feel clean before turning it back on and rinsing again. He stayed in the shower a long time thinking about Selene.

Selene on the other hand was stressing about her "cute" remark that she had let slip earlier. She hadn't intended to say that although it was innocent enough. She didn't want it misinterpreted if Micky didn't feel the same way about her.

Micky continued to sit on the shower chair and enjoy the water passing over his body. With every drop of water that ran off his body, he felt the scent of the hospital leaving him. He had finally managed to get all the tape residue off his arms where they had stuck him with every needle and IV imaginable during the past two months. He thought about Selene. She was someone special to him. He liked her but there was about a 30 year age difference as best he could tell. He didn't want to let himself become involved romantically with her because he was afraid that she just wouldn't go for it given the age difference. He was old enough to be her dad. He knew this. He resolved to just wait and see what happened and maybe drop a few hints along the way to see how she reacted to him. If she reacted positively, he'd put the moves on her and she'd be his. He wanted her to be his. He had already decided that she would make somebody a wonderful wife. Why not him?


	6. Chapter 6

-The Man Next Door-  
(Part 6)

Micky was finally satisfied with his hot shower and had managed to steam up the bathroom to the point that one probably needed fog lights to navigate it safely. He reached over and pulled the towel off the arm of the wheelchair where he had intentionally hung it before getting into the shower and proceeded to dry off from the top down. Whenever he got to his legs, he took special care to get all of the water off because he knew any water at all would make his pants impossible to get on. Once he was all dry, he transferred himself to the chair and dressed shirt first, pants last. After finally managing to get his pants on and socks, he arranged his feet on the foot rest of the chair and turned toward the sink where his brush, gel and hair band were located. He stuck his hand in the gel, slicked his hair back and ponytailed it on the back of his head. The gel made his hair appear to be very shiny. He noticed that his toothbrush and toothpaste along with mouthwash was placed on the counter top beside the sink and decided to brush his teeth while he was at it. There was also cologne and deodorant to go along with the other bathroom things so he used those as well. He felt presentable now at least.

Micky rolled out of the bathroom taking a bit of the remaining steam out with him and went back to find Selene. She had apparently been in the kitchen taking inventory of the food items.

"Hey hot stuff." He said as he rolled around the corner within view of her.

She was taken by surprise and quickly decided by default and for no apparent reason to play hard to get.

"Hot stuff?" She said questioningly.

"Yeah." Micky said rhetorically in an attempt to remain composed even though he felt that he just may have overstepped his boundaries.

"Real cute Sparky." She said back at him with a grin pointing to her own hair indicating that something might be out of place on his head.

He looked at her with a quirky look.

"Your hair's a little rumpled over there on one side." She said as she approached him with the intention of fixing it.

"Ahhh, I didn't see it. I didn't use the mirror." He commented as Selene pulled the hair band from his still wet and gelled hair, proceeding to straighten it out and slick it back again. She quickly had the hair band back on his hair and was finished.

"Looks good." She commented.

"That's great." Micky said

"In fact, you look wonderful." She added.

Micky smiled only a half of a smile "yeah, everything except the chair." He said back to her.

"Why do you say that?" She asked him sitting down in one of the table chairs so she could be on his level without really making it look like she was doing so.

"Well, I was thinking about dating again whenever I moved down here but now that this happened, things don't really work properly anymore." He said looking at the lower half of his body. "I feel like half a man because I can't feel anything past here." He said, placing a hand at his waist indicating the cut off point for feeling and functionality.

Micky figured that if he would have any chance at all with Selene he might as well let her know up front how things would be with a disabled, broken man. He didn't want to specifically have that discussion at a later point if they did become involved in a future relationship but would rather hit on those points now before anything happened just so he could avoid the conversation in the future. It was already devastating enough for him whenever he tried to do something and wasn't able to do it but to engage in a relationship with someone he really cared for and then find out later that they didn't want to do that because of his injuries would be too much for him.

"Well, you could always look on the bright side—when you dance the lady could sit in your lap!" Selene said to him in an attempt to brighten his mood.

"I've seen this handicapped guy at the club a few times doing that. He has a girlfriend and they seem like they're doing ok."

"Yeah, that's them. They're not senior citizens." Micky said sarcastically then added "You can pull off cute in a wheelchair when you've got your looks going for you and your youth."

"How old are you?" Selene asked out of the blue with emphasis on 'are'.

Micky didn't want to lie to her about his age but he didn't want to tell her the truth either. He also knew that all she had to do in order to find out was get on the internet. She probably already had his age figured out anyway at least a ball park figure.

"Ok, don't fall off your chair." He said laughing a little. "I'll be 63 years old." He said bluntly.

Without missing a beat, Selene said "You don't look 63 at all." As she stared dead into his eyes.

He could tell she meant that and it made him feel somewhat better about the situation at hand.

"I have to work at the club this weekend. Will you come see the show?" She said, pleading with her eyes.

"It would be nice for you to get out of the house once in a while." She added.

"I don't have a car right now." Micky said just attempting to find some reason not to go out in public. He had seen some of the reporters hanging out on his lawn right after he had come home. He didn't know if they had heckled Selene or not. If they did, they were asking for it. He knew that she wouldn't put up with any of their crap. He could see that she was a little firecracker waiting to go off at times.

"Don't worry about it—I have a car, we can ride together." She offered going on to say "We already know that you can get into my car without much difficulty so it won't be any trouble."

"Yes, but I'll have to be out in public. My name has been in the news lately and people know I've been in an accident. Haven't you looked through any of the mail that you brought in? Most of it consist of letters from fans and get well wishes. " He explained.

"Don't worry about what your fans will think of you if they happen to see you. They still love you just the same. In fact, they want to see you out and about. They haven't heard anything from you in months. It'd be good for your career in the long run." Selene explained.

"I'll think about it." Micky said.

Ok, I'm going to go back to my house and finish some cleaning. If you need anything, please call me. I'll be right over.  
With that Selene left.

Selene hadn't heard anything from Micky in almost 2 days. She didn't want to bother him and make him feel any worse by going over daily to check up on him but she really felt that by him not calling her or even coming out of the house that he may be in trouble. She decided that if she didn't hear from him today she would go over there first thing in the morning. He was supposed to let her know if he'd be coming to her show tomorrow night anyway. He had also mentioned dinner on the sun deck.

He still had a few hours left in the day to give her a call. It was only 4 PM at the time. Just at that moment her phone rang.

"Hello"

"Oh, hi Micky, how have you been doing?" She asked, genuinely concerned but glad to be talking to him.

"That's good"

"Ok, I'll be over then." She said excitedly and hung up the phone.

Micky had invited her over for dinner tonight—on the sun deck. He was apparently preparing it or having it delivered or something special. He had asked her to be at his house at promptly 7 PM and not a minute earlier. She still had plenty of time to get ready and get herself all prettied up for Micky. She not only felt compelled to just get dressed nicely but compelled to dress to turn him on and make him notice her a little more. She went through her closet and pulled out several outfits. The one she decided on was a black skirt that fell on her leg about mid thigh and a black & white striped shirt with a V neck that revealed some cleavage. She hadn't dressed like this in quite a while. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time that outfit had seen the light of day. She liked it. She remembered it had been one of her favorite things to wear. She pulled out the shoes that went with it. Silver platforms that laced around the ankle. She thought that these looked especially sexy and perhaps like something a modern day Cinderella would wear. The heels on the shoes were clear as well as the platform bottoms. She applied makeup only lightly. She didn't like wearing a lot of it anyway. Just enough to bring out the highlights.

Once she was ready, she looked at the clock, it was 6:55 by the time she was actually ready to go out the door. That worked perfectly. If she walked slow, she would be at his door at precisely the requested time.

Micky had been prepared for her arrival and left the door unlocked. He had already set the table and prepared everything else.  
Selene walked up to his door and let herself in quietly closing the door behind her. She noticed on the kitchen island right in front of her that there was a candle and a single red rose with a note.

"I'm waiting for you on the sun deck." The note said and was signed "Your Micky."

She couldn't believe what she had just read "Your Micky." She thought to herself. She didn't want to read more into it than what it was so she blew out the candle and proceeded to the sun deck. The blinds had been shut so that she couldn't see what was waiting for her out there but she knew Micky was there. She carefully pulled back the blinds and slid the door opened wide enough to walk through and slipped out onto the deck where she found a lovely patio table waiting for her, two place settings and one chair. An empty space for Micky. There were 2 tall white taper candles on the table in the center along with one votive candle in the center of the arrangement.

"Hello Micky." She said as he brought over something on a covered platter from the grill.

"Well, hello madame!" He said, obviously happy that she was there.

He looked absolutely dashing. He had put something on his hair to make it appear to be shiny black, slicked it back and tied it in a neat little ponytail on the back of his head and dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and shiny silk lapels with a red bow tie. He looked more than cute. He was hot. Everything was perfect.

Selene pulled out her own chair and prepared to sit down but noticed that there was something in the chair. She picked it up and smiled. There was a large bouquet of 2 dozen roses neatly packaged and wrapped in some pretty cellophane.

By this time Micky had placed the serving platter on the table and was watching her with the flowers. She dropped them back into the chair, walked in his direction and said "May I?" while looking down at his lap. Not really knowing what she intended but wanting every bit of it, he responded "You may do anything you like this evening." He said with a smile.

Selene carefully planted herself in Micky's lap and moved in for a kiss on the mouth taking his head in her hands and then after beginning the kiss she wrapped her arms completely around Micky who at this point was wrapping his arms around her back holding her on his lap and pulling her closer. Her semi long blonde hair fell just below her shoulders and brushed him on the face.

After what seemed like heaven's eternity, Selene pulled herself back from Micky's face long enough to tell him "You're such a sweetheart, Micky.  
"And you're an excellent kisser!" He replied, a little out of breath from the sheer shock and enjoyment of it all.

Micky smelled really good.

He served her one of the steaks he had prepared on the grill along with some of the veggies and served himself the same thing.

"Don't go anywhere." He instructed as he rolled back into the kitchen from the deck. He took the serving platter inside and then returned with a 2 liter bottle of Coke and two champagne flutes. He poured a glass for Selene and then himself. "I know you like it" He said as he finished pouring his own glass. "I thought about wine but you didn't seem like much of a wine drinker to me." He continued.

"That's a good thing. I don't really like wine." She answered.

"This is really nice Micky." She added.

After the meal, both of them cleared the table together depositing the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

"I've got something else out here to show you" Micky said as he wheeled himself back out the door onto the sun deck and over to the far corner where he pulled a cover off of something on a stand.

"Check out my telescope." He said as Selene walked over to examine it.

"This is nice. Is there something out tonight that you wanted to show me?" She asked.

Micky proceeded to set the telescope on a cluster of stars in the night sky then prompted her to look into the lens.  
"These are beautiful!" She said as she peered into the telescope.

After focusing on a few more stars and planets he noticed that Selene was becoming slightly uncomfortable having to bend over to look into the telescope and having to stand behind him.

"Wanna sit down?" He said as he motioned for her to sit on his lap and rolled away from the telescope.  
Without answering, Selene smiled and carefully sat down on Micky's lap in front of the telescope. He put one arm around her holding her and used the other to adjust the telescope.

This felt great for both of them and just felt right in an oddly connected sort of way.

Selene yawned briefly, not out of boredom but because she was sleepy. She looked at her watch, it was nearly 2 AM. "No wonder I feel so sleepy." She said to Micky as he too began to yawn. "It's getting a little chilly out here too!" She added.

The two of them covered the telescope and went back into the house, Selene took the flowers that Micky had for her in her hand as she approached his door nearest her house next door. For the first time, she felt ok with asking him to see her again. "Will I see you tomorrow?" She asked.  
"You bet!" Micky said as he moved closer to her and smiled.

Selene turned to face Micky and bent down to kiss him before she left. Apparently he was waiting for this because he pulled her into his lap once again and began passionately kissing her. The two kissed like that for several minutes before Selene finally arrived back at her house.

Saturday morning was here. Selene knew that she had a performance at a local club that night. She hadn't said anymore to Micky about coming to see her at that show. She understood why he might not be ready to go out in public at this point but she also decided that an outing would be good for him at some point soon. She would have to work to come up with something for the two of them to do that would be an outing that would also be private.

Micky woke up well rested mid morning with a smile on his face. He had been dreaming of a wedding—His own wedding. In the dream, he could walk again and was marrying Selene at what was the most beautiful wedding he had ever seen! She was lovely in her white dress and veil. The most stunning thing he had ever seen in his entire life! The dream was so real that he could almost feel her in his arms kissing him on the end of the dream.

On a whim, Micky pushed himself up in bed and into a sitting position. He looked around the room. His wheelchair was close enough to the edge of the bed so that he could reach it and transfer into it without assistance. Looking at it put quite a damper on the dream he had just had. He decided that he would attempt to put weight on his legs and just see if they would support anything. Before doing that he needed to attempt to move them first. He threw back the sheets on the bed revealing his legs. He could tell that he had already lost some muscle but not all of it. This was something that had worried him. If he were to recover, he would have to rebuild his muscles so that his legs would work properly. He hadn't been doing that because he didn't know how to do that. It was settled, he'd just have to emulate walking on a daily basis in order to keep what strength he had. With that thought in mind, he positioned his legs on the edge of the bed so that he was sitting on the side of the bed, feet touching the floor. He still couldn't feel anything. On any other morning, his feet would have been freezing by now and he would be wearing socks. Using the bead post for leverage, he pulled himself onto his legs and immediately crashed onto the floor, his legs not willing to support anything and going out from underneath him like a spaghetti noodle.

"Well, we won't try that one anymore." Micky said to himself as he pulled himself up off the floor and into the chair.

He wheeled himself into the living room. From here, he had a large bay window from which he could see into Selene's yard. Her Beretta was parked in the driveway but other than that, there was no sign of life at her house.

After eating breakfast, Micky began surfing the internet for information on what he could do in order to keep his strength up in his legs so that he would be ready for recovery. This resulted in information telling him to see a therapist but he didn't like the idea of that. He wanted to do it himself. In fact, he wanted to walk again and he wanted to do it for Selene like in the dream. The dream of his wedding day with Selene had now become a motivation to walk again.  
Micky shifted gears and moved to eBay where he made several purchases.

Later that evening the doorbell rang at Selene's house.

"Who could that be at this hour?" She said to herself as she approached the door.

She looked through the peep hole and didn't see anyone. She thought that was odd as she cracked the door revealing Micky at the door. She swung the door opened and greeted him with a light kiss on the cheek as she helped him get the chair over the threshold.

"You're looking nice." She said to him as she eyed his tan pants, dress shirt and shiny slicked back hair. He had a fedora hat in his lap.

"Would it be ok if I took you…"He stopped short of finishing his sentence realizing that he couldn't take her anywhere even if he desperately wanted to do so. He didn't have a car, he couldn't drive one if he had it and it just wouldn't work that way. "Nevermind." He said as he tried to shift the conversation to another subject.

"Would it be ok if you took me where?" Selene prodded.

Before giving him time to answer that one, she asked him another question. "Were you asking me out?" She asked with a smile.  
"Well, yes and no." He said looking down at the hat in his lap.

Selene, putting her hand on his chin forcing him to look at her while she spoke told him "If you want to go somewhere with me, I'm not going to think any less of you if I have to get us there. Just being with you is enough for me." She said sweetly as she stroked his face.

Micky smiled. "I was going to ask you if I could take you to the club tonight." He said but then added "But It would be more like you were taking me there…that'd be ok too I suppose."

"Then it's settled. You will ride with me in my car and you can watch my performance then we will grab something to eat." She said turning to go back to the bedroom.

"I'll be back in a minute. I have to finish getting dressed." She said as she walked into the bedroom and shut the door.  
After about 20 minutes, Selene came out dressed in her show business attire. She was wearing some snuggly fitting pleather pants, a sparkly halter style top, some silver jewelry and platform shoes that Micky couldn't remember seeing since the 70s that were about 4 inches. She looked absolutely stunning in his eyes. Every time she moved, she glimmered in the light. At some points, she could have passed for a human mirror ball.

"Ok, ready to go." She said as she headed to the door. Micky followed her out to the car.

The two of them arrived at The Deep Dish about a half hour before she was to go on stage. That was just enough time for her to touch up her makeup and make sure her hair was in order.

The car was parked around back near a rear entrance. It was quickly noticed that this entrance wasn't wheelchair accessible with about 6 steps going up to the door.

"Shit!" Selene said as she pounded the steering wheel.

"We could always go in the front door." Micky said.

"I didn't want to do that. I wanted you to be able to enjoy the night without having to go in front of a bunch of people and possibly having them hound you." She said as she continued to grip the steering wheel.

"Get my chair." Micky said in a tone of voice that nearly sounded like an order.

She said nothing but obeyed walking around behind the car to open the trunk. She brought it around to his side of the car where he already had the door opened and was waiting for it. Once he was in the chair he moved away from the car.

"You go in the back, I'll go in the front and we'll hook up somewhere inside." He said.

"Ok, if the bouncer outside the dressing room says anything, just tell him your name. I'll be sure and let him know that you're coming back." Selene said.  
Selene popped into the door out of sight leaving Micky in the rear parking lot. He wheeled around to the front of the building where the entrance was roped off. The bouncer at the door was checking IDs and had already turned away a few people. There was a sizable crowd at the door at the moment.

Micky approached the door and managed to pique the attention of quite a few people. It was at that point that the bouncer realized who Micky was and rushed over to push him out of the surrounding crowd to the inner part of the building. Micky didn't even have time to talk to anyone who had approached him. The next thing he knew he was inside.

"You'll be a lot better off in here." The bouncer said to Micky after putting him inside. "Not everyone gets in and a lot of times, people just hang around out here to see who comes in and such."

"Thanks." Micky said as the bouncer resumed his post outside the door. Micky couldn't see too much outside through the tinted glass but he could see enough to determine that a few people were pretty upset that he was whisked away from them like that.

Micky made his way through the place. It was a rather plush club. Upscale. He had no idea that Selene worked in a place like this. The stage area was phenomenal with every kind of lighting imaginable. There were tables all around the area so that you could have dinner and watch the performance without having to worry about getting a bad seat. Every seat was nice.

"Excuse me, miss." Micky said as a rather young woman took notice of his call for attention and approached him. "Can you tell me where Selene McHannoy's dressing room is located?"

"Sure, it's right down that hallway. Third door on the left." She said continuing what she had previously been doing.

"Hey, who are you?!" The bouncer called out as soon as Micky entered within his scope of vision.

"Micky and I'm here to see Selene. She was supposed to tell you I would be coming by." Micky said.

"Ok, you can go in but don't cause any trouble." He growled.

Micky continued past the bouncer into the dressing room where he found Selene finishing up with her make up.  
"You look nice." He told her as he approached her.


	7. Chapter 7

-The Man Next Door-  
(Part 7)

Micky made his way to an area near the side of the stage where it was somewhat dark and where he wouldn't be noticed by the other club-goers. As the stage band played a few songs before the main act-Selene- would begin, a waitress approached Micky's table to take his drink order.

"No drinks for me tonight, thanks." He said as he dismissed the waitress.

The lights went down and a spotlight came on. Micky watched as Selene made her way onto the stage. She looked stunning all made up like a rock star. As Micky sat there listening to her performance and realizing that she had a hell of a voice to go with her looks, he realized something else. He was on the other end of the proverbial stick for a change. In the past it had been him on stage with the screaming crowd. He found himself excited to be watching Selene. He couldn't explain it but it felt nice to be on the other end of that proverbial stick. It was different.

The audience applauded generously after the first few songs performed as Selene announced that she was going to change things up a bit and sing a few country tunes. This only brought more applause from the audience. Selene turned around to say something to the band so that it wasn't broadcasted over the microphone system and then turned around to face the audience as the first few bars of "I Fall To Pieces" began to play.

" _This should be interesting_ ". Micky thought to himself. He found it really interesting that she could go from singing a Joan Jett rock song with that grit in her voice to belting out a classic like Patsy Cline that was so smooth and rich in tone.

As Selene began to sing the song the audience became quiet and listened. Micky was enamored with this woman's voice. He began to realize that this woman really needed a record deal and her own songs but he also realized that maybe she didn't want to be tossed into that sort of show business kind of life that he had lived for the past 45 or so years of his life and had come to be accustomed to. Sometimes it was nice to sit in dark corners unknown to the crowd and just enjoy something-a piece of normal life.

It was now close to midnight, Selene was sweaty and slightly tired from the set that she had just performed not to mention hungry. She really needed a snack but the kitchen was now closed at the club.

"Selene" Micky said as he rolled into the dressing room back stage. "Your performance was phenomenal tonight! I don't know where to begin!" He said with a sincere smile.

"Well thank you." She said.

"Wanna go grab something to eat." She said to him as she tied her hair up in a ponytail not really worrying about how it looked. It was a slightly sloppy ponytail but Micky didn't think any less of her for it.

"Sure, I could use something as well." He said as he turned to roll out the door back to the car.

Whenever the two of them were back in the Beretta in the quiet of the night things were quiet for a moment.

"There's nothing open at this hour." Selene said. "Maybe we should just run by the 7 Eleven and grab some snacks to eat in the car.

"Sounds great." Micky said then paused.

"But what?" She asked him after the awkward pause.

"I was just thinking that I don't want to go into the store like this. I'd rather that you go in and get the snacks and let me wait in the car." He said.

"Ok, no problem." She said as she pressed the clutch allowing the car to roll backwards out of the parking place.

"I'll have a couple of chilli dogs and a Coke." Micky said as he fished in his wallet for his debit card that he gave to Selene.

"Ok, be right back." She said as she took the debit card and ran off into the store leaving the keys in the car and leaving it idling in the parking lot.

While she was gone Micky began thinking about her earlier performance and how he knew people who could help her break into the music business and give her a great life and great future of financial security but then he began to think about all the bad things that he had experienced because of being a celebrity. He weighed all of the options and by the time Selene returned to the car with the snacks, Micky had decided to make the offer to her and see what she said but he wasn't going to do that without first explaining to her the consequences as he saw them.

Selene opened the car door and handed Micky all of the food, getting back in and immediately pulling the car into reverse and then yanking it back into first. She peeled a little rubber whenever she pulled out of the 7 Eleven parking lot.

"What the hell..?" Micky said slightly annoyed at being jerked around.

"One of my old boyfriends was in there!" Selene shot back "He stalked me for three years after we broke up and I haven't seen him in a long time. This was the first time in ages. I didn't even know that he was still around here!" She continued.

"Oh." Micky said, taking it all in as the Beretta sped down the road in the middle of the night.

Selene turned the car into an empty parking lot away from the road and street lights and parked it there. Micky was still holding the food and drinks just as he had been the whole way from the 7 Eleven store.

"What are we doing?" Micky asked.

"I just thought it would be more fun to eat in the car and just be alone together." Selene told him as she reached over to take her taquitos from his lap. They were wrapped in wax paper so they weren't likely to make a mess in the car as the chili dogs might.

The two of them sat there in the night in the Beretta with the windows down and the sun roof pushed back just chatting about everyday life, what they were going to do tomorrow and the like when Micky seemed to have a thought.

"What?" Selene asked as soon as the look came across his face in the middle of their talk about having another cook out on his sun deck.

"You know, even if I wanted to change things around, it always has to be this way." He said, looking down at his paralyzed legs.

"What always has to be what way?" Selene questioned, genuinely confused at what he had just said. She had no idea what he was referring to outside of something having to do with his injury.

"It's always going to be you taking me out somewhere. I'm never going to be able to take you out and treat you like a man should treat a woman." He said quietly.

"Micky, don't think about that now." She said to him as she reached over and petted his ponytail playing with it through her fingers.

And before he could say anything else she made another rather interesting comment. "You don't have to worry about treating me the way a man should treat a woman. I'm happy with you just like this and I know you can make me happy otherwise."

Micky knew that Selene had just eluded to a sexual relationship and that thought with Selene hadn't even crossed his mind. Honestly, he had been having too much fun to think about what sex would be like with a half paralyzed man. He couldn't feel anything down there and the thought frightened him but at the same time he was comforted by what she said. She liked him just the way he was and didn't expect him to change.

 _"Why would she want to even think about sex?"_ Micky wondered briefly to himself for a split second before he realized that there was an awkward silence present because he had been thinking to himself.

"Ummm, I mean driving, Selene-It's something that I rather enjoyed and now I can't do that. I don't even have a car anymore." Micky said half trying to bullshit a serious conversation and hide his thinking spree and half being very serious.

"I think you could probably manage to drive a car again and enjoy it at the same time." Selene said as she chomped off some more of the taquito and cracked open the bottle of decaf Coke that she had bought taking a big guzzle of it then burping under her breath.

"Excuse me." She said. "That just sort of slipped up on me." She added as they both giggled.

"It's ok dear." Micky said as he finished off the second chili dog and then proceeded to sit there watching Selene finish off the taquito.

"In fact, you should try it." Selene added to her previous car statement.

"With what?" Micky questioned back.

"With this." She said pointing to her own car's steering wheel.

"Oh no. We're not doing that. I don't wanna take a chance on wrecking your car." Micky said

"It doesn't matter. It's old anyway. A scratch or dent isn't going to matter." Selene shot back.

There was a short silence in the car as Micky stared out the window into the night. He looked back and hit the radio button to make the clock turn on in the car. It was nearly 1 AM.

"We should be going home." He said as though he were being fatherly rather than a friend. It was almost a direct order.

Without speaking, Selene started the car and drove in the direction of their homes.

"Seriously, Micky, would you be interested in being able to drive again? I mean it seemed like it was something you enjoyed doing before..." She stopped short of mentioning the accident. She knew that he knew what she was getting at and she could tell that he was already in a bad mood over it.

"Look, just shut up about it!" Micky snapped.

He realized what he had just said to Selene the minute it came out of his mouth. Even though he couldn't see her face clearly in the darkness he could feel that he had hurt her by snapping at her like that. He knew he had screwed up. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Selene" Micky began in a calmer tone of voice. "I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I know you're just trying to help me but it's just hard for me to cope with only being half there. It really hurts sometimes to see other people living normal lives and then to see myself not being able to do anything anymore."

Selene moved her right hand off the gear shifter which was it's usual resting place while driving and moved it to Micky's left hand which was resting on his thigh.

"It's ok. I know it's hard and I know that you didn't mean to snap at me. We can start working on things later."

Selene pulled the car over in Micky's driveway to make it easier for him to get into his house.

"Micky..." Selene said as he sat waiting for her to unload his chair from the trunk.

He turned to look at her. The dome light had lit the car enough now that he could clearly see her. For a split second he was filled with happiness again as he gave her his attention.

Selene leaned over and planted a gentle kiss just beside his mouth. As she pulled away Micky wrapped his arms around her holding her in a hug.

"It'll be ok." She whispered in his ear.

"I know." He whispered back as he let her out of his arm lock.

Micky couldn't get to sleep. Something wasn't allowing him to rest. He was still hung up on that thought of how things would be if the relationship progressed. After he had thoroughly pondered the mechanics of disabled sex he decided that there was nothing he could do to improve upon that situation at the moment and perhaps the best thing he could do for himself would be to allow Selene to help him regain enough mobility or at least enough coordination to drive. He didn't really expect mobility but it was within reach to get coordinated again and try to make it work.

Once he had thought this out it came to his attention that the Chevy that Selene drove was a 5 speed straight shift which meant that he would need 2 feet on the pedals instead of one and that he would have to be able to feel the clutch pressure to get it right. This thought discouraged him but it was ok. He had the money. He could go buy himself a car if he needed one. He had already collected on the insurance from the Mercedes that he enjoyed driving so much. That was a hefty little pay off right there. That would be enough in its self to buy a car.

With that thought. Micky drifted off into sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The Man Next Door  
(Part 8)

The next morning, Micky awoke feeling slightly groggy from sleeping so hard. He didn't really feel like getting out of bed just at that moment so he laid there half awake for the moment and just closed his eyes again. He could have very easily drifted off into sleep once again but something prevented him.

He smelled something. As he noticed this smell wafting into the room again, he identified it as waffles or possibly pancakes. He couldn't tell which.

 _"That's odd."_ Micky thought to himself. He looked around and hadn't left a window open or anything else that a smell should be coming from.

By this time, Micky had pushed himself up to a sitting position in the bed and was enjoying the smell of food coming into his room.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Selene exclaimed as she peeked around the corner to check as to whether or not he was awake.

Micky smiled that soft, gentle smile at her and said "Hey sweety."

Selene entered the room and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed taking special care not to sit on Micky's legs or feet in the process.

"I hope you didn't plan on getting up just yet." She said and then added "I've made breakfast for you and it's almost ready."

Micky slipped his arm around her waist as she sat there wrapping one arm behind her and the other in front of her managing to hold her hand in the process.

"It's nice that you do these things for me." He said as he looked into her eyes.

"I enjoy it." Selene said in response. "I really enjoy doing things to make you happy and help you out." She added.

A ding went off in the kitchen at which point Selene jumped up off the bed like a jack in the box and went toward the kitchen.

"Oatmeal!" She said as she left the room.

In a few moments, Selene returned with a tray that had several food items laid out for Micky's breakfast. She had squeezed some juice into a glass, prepared hot herb tea and some coffee because she didn't know which he would prefer for Breakfast, there were two waffles on the plate, an egg with some shredded cheese and cilantro, the bowl of oatmeal and some fruit slices.

"Wow!" Micky said as his eyes seemed to get a little bigger when he saw all of the food fare that was before him on the tray.

"I didn't know whether you liked coffee or tea for breakfast so I made both for you...whichever one you don't want, I'll drink." Selene said as he prepared to feast.

"Oh my...This is really nice of you to fix all of this food for me. I usually don't eat this much for breakfast but this is great." Micky said as he picked up the fork and began to cut the waffle into little pieces for eating.

"And I didn't forget the syrup." Selene said as she pulled a tiny one person sized bottle from her apron pocket and sat it on his tray. This made Micky very happy.

"Selene, how did you ever get to be such a wonderful cook!" Micky said as he tasted the egg.

"Well, it's just something that I enjoy doing on the side. Culinary seems to be one of the few things I happen to be good at." She said then trailed off.

"I wanted to make a career out of singing but I just can't get the break I want and it isn't working out for me that well. I make decent amounts of money whenever I perform but it just isn't regular income like writing for the paper seems to be. At least that's a weekly paycheck." she continued.

"What's in this juice?" Micky interrupted as he took a sip.

"Oh, is it too sour?" She said out of habit. She liked the concoction but usually everyone else hated it.

"No, quite the opposite!" Micky said as he took another drink. "This stuff taste great!"

This obviously pleased Selene.

"It's got mainly fresh squeezed orange juice in it but I put some mango and kiwi in there as well."

"Sounds healthy." Micky said as he smiled and took another drink of the juice mixture. "I like it, we're going to have to have this more often."

Once Micky had finished the waffle and ate some of the fruit, he moved on to the oatmeal which was just about right for eating now that it had cooled off.

"I think i'll have the coffee instead of the tea." Micky said as he pushed the cup of steaming tea towards Selene indicating for her to drink it.

"Ok, sounds great. I like that kind of tea anyway." She said as she began sipping the herbal tea.

"I still feel a little not woken up yet." Micky said as he drank some of the coffee. "And this coffee smells wonderful. I need the caffeine."

"It's decaf." Selene said as she giggled about it.

They both laughed then Micky said "Well then what's the point of having it if you aren't getting the benefit of it waking you up?"

They both laughed again as Selene shrugged.

Selene moved the tray aside as Micky finished breakfast and crawled up closer beside him then leaned in for another one of those little kisses like she had planted on him last night. Just a little peck slightly to the right of his lips. Something about its simplicity and innocence turned him on every time she done that.

In turn, he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her as the two of them settled into a loose hug. Selene began to kiss the side of his face then made her way around back to his lips at which point the two of them engaged in what seemed like an everlasting kiss.

For the moment, Micky was in pure bliss. He wasn't thinking about anything bad. All he could think about was Selene and his current kiss that was absolutely perfect, the perfect breakfast, how she cared for him and helped him during his time of need but he knew that this couldn't last forever. He would love to have this every day for the rest of his life but he knew that if the relationship progressed any further that it wouldn't be as fun. Right now, it was more like dating for fun rather than with intentions of getting serious. He didn't really want to give that up either because he was rather enjoying it and he knew that Selene was enjoying it-evidently. What a woman in her mid-late twenties saw in someone his age was beyond him but he was liking it. He didn't want to lead her on and then hurt her in the end.

"Selene." He whispered in her ear as she kissed the other side of his face. "Hey honey?" he continued as he gradually was able to get her attention away from kissing him.

Selene pulled back to look him in the eye.

"What is it, Fuzzy?" She asked as she brushed his frazzled hair back away from his face.

"Selene, I can't keep doing this to you-leading you on like this." He began with an obvious sad note in his voice.

"What are you talking about?" She asked as she looked straight into his eyes.

"This!" He said pointing to the two of them indicating them.

"I can't let you do this. I can't let you waste your time with someone like me." Micky continued.

"Are you saying that you don't want to see me anymore?" Selene said, trying to hold back tears.

"No, it isn't that at all. I do want to continue to see you but I don't want to lead you on and I don't want you to waste your life away with me. It's just that I don't think that i'll ever fully recover and I don't want you to have to be tied down with an aging disabled has-been performer."

"But Micky..." Selene started as she was hushed by Micky.

"Please let me finish." He said as he reached for her hand.

"I just don't want to bring you down in life. I want to still be friends , I want you in my life but I don't want you to feel obligated to me. You're free to date other people if you want. I don't want you to feel that it would hurt me if you did that."

Selene sat there on the bed for a moment quiet and then began to speak. "Micky, I don't want to see other people. I have really enjoyed seeing you, I like being with you and honestly I could care less about the age difference to boot!"

Selene continued "I find you to be attractive in a suave, mature sort of way. Besides that, most men i've dated have been very immature and I disliked that. I've had a lot of fun since you moved in and you've just been perfect."

"You mean I used to be perfect back when I could function properly..." Micky said half joking and half serious.

"No!" Selene yelled at him. "I still think you're perfect and I can get past the fact that you are disabled. That's ok with me. I'm ok with it. It doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that you're constantly making it an issue between us when it shouldn't be.

With that Selene picked up the tray and took it with her out of the room leaving Micky sitting on the bed obviously with the intention that he would think about what she had said to him and come to agree with her by the time she returned.

She left the room without looking back at Micky. It's a good thing she didn't because she had just left him partly shattered and partly woken up from the fog that he had been in ever since the accident of wondering about his life and whether or not it would return to normal. The look on his face from her shouting at him painted a picture of a very emotionally tender man who had let the daggers in her voice get to him even though that hadn't been her intentions. Her intentions were to get through to him one way or the other and if it meant hurting him by yelling at him that's what it would take.

In the kitchen, Selene cleaned up the remainder of the breakfast stuff and cleared the counter tops. She was somewhat compulsive about keeping a clean kitchen but she also had tenancy to become compulsive whenever she was engrossed in thoughts about something. She was so engrossed in thoughts about her relationship with Micky that she began cleaning the whole kitchen, every surface, the stove, the sinks-everything.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Micky was almost afraid to approach her both because of his fragile emotional state of mind and hers. He was partly afraid that she would yell at him again and he didn't want to upset her further. He thought that she needed some time to gather her thoughts and cool off.

After thinking hard about the conversation that had just transpired in the bedroom after that little fling of passion that took place, he decided that if he were going to have Selene, he would have to make every effort to try to recover from his injuries as much as possible for her sake. He really did not want to be a burden on anyone, specifically her.

Micky proceeded to get out of the bed but then realized that his chair was no longer parked next to the bed within his reach. Selene had inadvertently bumped it away whenever she had slid up the bed closer to him because it was in her way. She had forgotten to put it back. Now he had to call her back in and ask for her to bring the chair over to him so that he could get in it. This was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Selene..." Micky said aloud so that she could here him in the kitchen.

Selene was still a bit rattled by the conversation but she answered "What?"

"I need my chair back." Micky responded.

Without saying anything in response, Selene returned to the bedroom, pulled the chair to the bed and then said to Micky "I just need some time to think about things. I'm not mad at you. I just need to sort things out."

"That's fine." Micky said "Take as much time as you need. I'm glad you're not mad at me."

"I find it hard to be mad at you whenever you really didn't do anything except have pity on yourself." She added as she left the room again.

A brief thought of how sexy Selene was crossed Micky's mind. She was still wearing a little white apron with a pocket in the front that resembled the ones worn by French maids. For some reason that was a turn on for him.

Selene ended up on the sun deck after she had cleaned everything there was to clean in the kitchen. By this time, the sun was out and had heated up the outdoors enough to allow for her to be outside without a jacket. The warm California sun poured down. It felt like it was going to be another hot day outside. Selene sat there at the table and thought about her relationship with Micky.

 _"I really want to stay with him."_ She said to herself _"But I have to get him to understand that I love him just like he is, accident or not."_ She continued thinking to herself.

 _"I've also got to let him know somehow that I'm not really interested in sex although that would be a perk."_ She stopped thinking about that and retrained her thoughts on what she could do to help Micky.

Selene decided that Micky would begin doing more things that he enjoyed and he would begin doing them as soon as possible in order to have some fun and let go a little bit. She hated making their relationship contingent upon his rehabilitation but it was the only way that she would be able to get him to stop feeling sorry for himself. It was decided. She would tell him the next chance she got that he would just have to stop pitying himself if he wanted to remain with her and that he would have to enjoy life and not dwell on thoughts about burdening her, his age or only being a half-functioning person. She just wanted to be with him and if she wanted this, she would accept him just how he was and try to help him wherever she could.

At this point, he had been watching her for the past 15 or 20 minutes. Micky was dressed and had moved to the kitchen. Selene had her back to the door at the time so she hadn't noticed him behind her. She had been deep in thought. So deep that she hadn't realized it.

Micky approached the sliding door and tapped on the closed glass at her to get her attention.

Selene turned around and saw him. She got up and slid the door open for him. "Care to join me?" She asked, obviously in a much better, calmer mood than earlier.

"Yeah." Micky said, also calmed down and seeming somewhat happier.

"I wanna talk to you." He added then continued "I just want you to know that i'm going to try to accept myself the way I am and focus more on the fact that i'm still around to enjoy things and the fact that there are still things I can enjoy...I really don't want to lose you if you feel the same way, Selene. I want to work to improve what functions I still have left and if you'll allow me..."

Selene smiled the biggest smile that Micky had ever seen as she jumped up and landed in his lap with her arms around him.

"Yes! You know I wouldn't give you up for the world!" She said excitedly as she kissed him several times.

"All I wanted was for you to just try to be a little happier and enjoy things a little more. Just let loose when we're together and don't make such an issue out of things. I am aware of your condition and limitations. I don't need the constant reminders from you." She said.

"I know, baby...I know. I'm going to try and stop doing that. You've been taking such good care of me and you've done so many helpful things for me. I just don't know what else i'd do if I didn't have you in my life. You came into my life at just the right time and I don't want you to leave any time soon." Micky explained very nearly letting a few tears escape his eyes in the process.

After another hug that lasted for a few minutes, Selene pulled back from Micky and looked at him. She laughed a little.

"What are you laughing at?" Micky asked her, truly not realizing anything was amiss.

"Your hair-it's awful right now." She said through a giggle as she smoothed it down.

"You like it better tied back, don't you?" He said to her.

"Yeah, I think that's a good look for you. It makes you look so dapper!" She said as she played in his hair.

"You look a little creepy with it down and puffed around like that." She said.

With that, she slid off of Micky's lap and walked around behind his chair.

"May I roll you into the house and to your mirror so that you can fix your hair?" She said as she began pushing.

Micky looked up and smiled an approving smile up at her.

Once Micky had fixed his hair like Selene liked it, slicked back and gelled to the point that it was perfectly shiny, he returned from the bathroom mirror into the living room of the house where he found Selene sitting flipping through some news channels . Whenever he entered the room, she muted the TV.

"Selene, you know I said I wanted to try and help myself earlier..." Micky said.

"Yeah" She responded.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd mind taking me car shopping sometime...I kind of need somebody to take me to a car lot since I can't drive myself just yet. No car..." He continued.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Selene said with obvious excitement.

"I love to look at cars!" She added. "Not that I could afford to buy one but yes, I'd love to go with you car shopping. It'd be fun."

"Great!" Micky said. "Could we go today?" He added, excitement increasing in his own voice.

"Yes, of course we can go today. Just tell me where." Selene said, turning the TV off.

The two of them made a list of possible dealerships and even looked through the newspaper at some classified ads in order to decide where they wanted to go car shopping.

"I'll go grab the check book." Micky said leaving the room.


	9. Chapter 9

The Man Next Door  
(Part 9)

Micky and Selene pulled up at the first dealership on their list. Micky had expressed an interest in getting another Mercedes but had also said that he was open to any suggestions that Selene might make. Selene loved sports cars and had often wished she could afford to buy a new car but at the same time was rather satisfied with the 5 speed V 6 Beretta that she had been driving for such a long time. She didn't know how much longer it would last but it had served her well and was sporty to top it off. The little thing had some kick but she knew that there were better things out there.

Micky had also decided that if he went with a car, it shouldn't be a straight shift but it could either be an automatic or an auto-stick. He wanted to refrain from getting any special equipment installed until he figured out exactly what it would take to meet his needs.

They made a pass around the lot just to get some idea of what was on the lot, prices and to see if there was anything there that they would be further interested in. There were several nice Mercedes parked all in a line at the lot.

"This place looks kind of fancy." Selene commented as she looked at some of the prices written on the windshields. These cars were high end. The cheapest one that she had seen on the lot was nearly fifty grand. She knew she wouldn't be buying anything here for herself and at the same time just then realized that Micky must have an enormous amount of money and therefore must have been enormously popular when he was a Monkee. She still hadn't been able to wrap her mind around the whole Monkees phenomenon. She hadn't had the time to do so.

"This is where my ex wife bought the Mercedes I wrecked." Micky said quietly. "I thought it might be a good starting place...I kind of liked that car." He added.

"Let's look at that one." Micky said as he pointed to another black Mercedes that appeared very similar to the one he used to have. This one was over fifty thousand dollars.

"Ok." Selene said as she stopped the Beretta in front of the Mercedes they wanted to look at.

"Get out and look it over for me." Micky told her.

"What? Me? Look it over?" Selene said befuddled that he would suggest that she look at a car priced this high that he was intending to purchase.

"Yeah, you. Go look at it. I trust your judgment. I don't want to get out just yet unless we're really interested in it. Just let me know what you think of it and describe it to me."

Selene switched the Beretta off and got out of the car walking towards the black Mercedes to take a look at the spec sheet. No sooner than she had stepped out of the car, a salesman began walking in her direction. Micky spotted the salesman first.

"Hey!" Micky said in a tone just slightly higher than a whisper to Selene. "Hey, salesman's coming over already." He warned her.

"Don't tell him you wanna buy it yet. Just tell him you're shopping." He instructed.

Selene nodded and still continued at this point to act like she was looking at the car.

"Good morning ma'am!" The salesman said as he approached and extended his hand for a hand shake. Selene shook his hand and likewise greeted him.

Micky rolled up the window in the car before the salesman had time to notice him and at the same time popped the sun roof opened so he could hear what was being said. The windows were tinted so it made it difficult to see him inside the Beretta so long as he didn't move. He wanted to let Selene handle this and see how she worked. He was enjoying it.

"I'm Greg Privette, were you looking for something in particular today?" He inquired like all car salesmen do whenever they're trying to feel out the customer.

"Hello Greg, my name is Selene McHannoy and I was just looking at this Mercedes. It's a nice car." She said to him as she walked around the car and peeped into the other side.

The salesman seemed to not like being dismissed by her walking around the other side of the car and not telling him specifically what she was looking for so he followed her around the other side of the car saying "You know, we don't do trade ins too often here unless you have something to trade in that we can re-sell fairly easily." as he eyed the 1990 Beretta as though he were comparing it to the sixty two thousand dollar Mercedes-Benz she had been looking at.

"In fact, perhaps you'd be more interested in something a little more in your price range, dear. We probably couldn't finance this vehicle for you." Greg said after obviously sizing her up based on her appearance and the current vehicle she had arrived in.

Micky was absolutely boiling while watching this side show from inside the Beretta. He wanted to jump out of the car and just grab this little twerp and throw him against the car and tell him that his treatment was uncalled for and maybe mention that he was paying cash and that he was no longer interested in the Mercedes after all but he held back a bit. He wanted to see how Selene handled herself. Besides, at this point, he wasn't physically capable of carrying out the actions that he would have liked to.

"You know what, why don't I just take a closer look at the car. Do you have the keys?" Selene said as she glared at the salesman.

Greg fumbled with some keys that he held in his pocket and pulled out an interesting little key that was housed in a black plastic box with a three pointed star on the outer casing. As he pressed a switch, the metal part of the key flipped out and was ready for the ignition.

He moved toward the car and unlocked the driver side door so that Selene could sit down but he didn't offer her the key.

"Take a look, if you must." He said begrudgingly. He didn't really want to spend the time standing there showing her this car when it was his assumption that she couldn't afford it and was simply wasting his time for her own amusement.

Selene plopped down in the leather seat and proceeded to take a look at the dash. It looked similar to the last car that Micky had owned only it was a bit more modernized since it was a newer model. The interior was black leather with a black dash trimmed in silver.

Selene noticed the hood latch and popped the hood. As she got up out of the seat and walked around the front of the car to take a look under the hood, she pushed by the salesman who obviously had no intention of moving out of her way.

"Excuse me, what are you doing now?" Greg asked-obviously and apparently slightly angered with the fact that she was even looking under the hood.

"I'm looking at the engine." Selene said with a tone in her voice that indicated that she was stating the obvious.

Selene continued to look at the engine and then moved to the side of the car where she removed one of the fluid caps and pretended to check some fluids in the vehicle. She only done this so that Micky would have a clear view of the engine from inside the Beretta.

"I really don't think we have an attractive financing package to offer you." Greg said again, this time with a tone in his voice that indicated that he no longer had the time or wanted to deal with her.

"You seem awfully anxious to size me up based on the fact that I came in here in a car that's more than 20 years old and the fact that I look like I can't afford to drive a Mercedes...Just think of all the money i've been able to save over the years by driving that Beretta and _NOT_ buying a brand new car!" Selene shot back at him, this time sounding a bit agitated.

Micky could tell that Selene was getting really pissed off about the whole deal and had already decided that even if the guy decided to cut her a deal based on her good looks he wasn't about to take it no matter how good it was because the guy was being such a jackass.

At that moment, Micky rolled down the window of the Beretta. Greg turned to see that someone else was in the car with Selene and nearly immediately realized who it was. He realized that he had probably just blown a sale that he could have had if he had of treated Selene a little better and not been so quick to judge her based on appearance and the vehicle that she arrived in.

"I don't think I like this one." Micky said as he looked at Selene. "Why don't we go look somewhere else. I'm a little tired of Mercedes anyway." Micky added as he grinned at the salesman.

"Sir, I had no idea that she was buying this car as your proxy!" Greg stammered. "Had I known, I would have behaved better. I just thought that..." He was cut off by Micky.

"You just thought that she was wasting your time and you were looking for someone else to rip a new one on one of your high priced cars. You know, I can go buy that car elsewhere for at least 5000 dollars less than your price tag." Micky said as he angrily cranked up the window of the Beretta.

By this time Selene was inside the car and had the Beretta started.

"Let's get out of here." Micky said. "now!" he added with a swishing hand motion of the hand.

Selene laid down the gas pedal revving the Beretta slightly over 2000 RPMs before letting the clutch out with the car in 2nd gear peeling rubber all the way out of the parking lot and into the street at which point the car chirped through gears 3 and 4. By the time she had shifted into 5th gear they were moving at around 90 MPH in a 55 MPH zone.

"Holy shit!" Micky said as his eyes grew as large as saucers.

"What?" Selene said, calm as ever.

"This car...You just went from the parking lot to over 90 miles an hour in less than 10 seconds with this thing!" He said with astonishment. "I just didn't think this little thing would do that!"

"Yep, it'll do that quite easily." Selene said patting the steering wheel.

"One reason I like it so much. It's got a lot of kick."

"So, did you still want a Mercedes?" Selene asked

"Yeah, I am still thinking about it but i'm open to other ideas as well. Heck, maybe i'll go find myself a Beretta after riding shotgun in this thing."

"They stopped making them in 1996." Selene informed him.

"You mean they just don't make these things anymore? Well that was stupid of them to cut it off. It seems like a perfectly nice vehicle. " Micky said.

As the two of them discussed cars, they eventually approached another car lot where Selene and Micky found another Mercedes.

Micky liked this particular car. It was like the other one except it was a convertible like the one he had previously owned. He liked those convertibles.

"I think I want to have you test drive this one for me." He told Selene.

"You want me to test drive it for you?"

"Well, how else am I going to get a feel for the car?" He said.

Selene got out of the Beretta and unloaded Micky's wheelchair from the trunk so that he could get into it and take a closer look at the Mercedes. They spoke with the salesman and obtained the keys and a dealer tag to test drive the car.

Once Micky was in the car and his chair put away in the trunk, Selene got in and started the vehicle. She had never driven anything quite this expensive before. It felt good. It felt so smooth and effortless. She hadn't even moved the vehicle yet.

Micky gave her directions on where to drive the car. She followed his directions until they were out of sight of the dealership at which point Micky made a request of her.

"Would you mind putting the top down?"

"What? Now?" She asked as she drove the car down the long straight road.

"Well, you will need to pull off the road before you do that." Micky said, smiling.

Selene pulled off the road and put the car in park. She looked around attempting to figure out on her own how to put the top down in the Mercedes and also trying not to look stupid in the process.

"Can I do it?" Micky said as he watched evidently enjoying it.

"Have at it." She said

Micky leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and as he backed away from the kiss, he pointed down to the center console to a switch that looked like a light switch and pressed it backward holding it. As he held the switch, Selene noticed that the top detached from the front of the windshield and began to move backwards. As she continued to watch, she noticed that the trunk opened backwards so that the top could slide in. Once it was tucked away, the trunk closed completely hiding any evidence that the vehicle ever had a top in the first place. whenever the top was up, you couldn't tell that it was a convertible.

"Wow!" Selene said as she marveled at the sheer wizardry of the mechanics of it all. "That was so awesome!" She added.

Micky had seen this all before many times with his previous car but he knew that she enjoyed watching it and had probably never seen anything like it before.

Selene pulled the car back out onto the road and began driving again. Micky instructed her to take the next left which put them on a two lane black top that was mostly straight and went on for miles.

"Open it up a little bit." Micky said looking at her.

Selene was already driving 55 but done as Micky had asked and give the car a little more gas. It seemed like nothing to make the car accelerate up the slight incline that they were climbing at the moment. In fact, the engine was mostly unheard. The car drove very smooth and had great acceleration.

"Ok, stop the car in the road." Micky instructed.

Micky reached over and pulled the shifter on the console down in 1st gear.

"I want you to drive it like a straight shift only it doesn't have a clutch. It's an auto shifter. You just shift when you're supposed to."

"umm, ok." Selene said a little unsure of how this auto shifter thing worked.

She gave the car some gas and accelerated shifting the gears according to the tachometer and shift light on the dash that appeared and realized that this car was a lot more fun as an auto shifter than it had been as an automatic.

Whenever they returned to the dealership and paid for the vehicle Micky told the dealer that he would send someone by to pick up the vehicle for him explaining that he couldn't drive it at the moment.

On the way home, Selene couldn't stop raving about the Mercedes. She was still fascinated with it and how wonderful it was.

"You know, I'd like to buy one of those someday." She told Micky as they drove home.

"Just like that, you'd like to buy one?" He asked

"Yeah. I liked it a lot. I like other cars too but I really liked that one." She answered.

"What kind of other cars do you like?" He questioned.

"Well, let's see here..."She began. "I've always liked Camaros, Trans Ams and Corvettes if you were asking about sports cars but if you're just talking about regular cars, I suppose my Beretta is fine but since they don't make those anymore I'd probably go for a Z Cavalier or something." She continued.

"I see." Micky said as they pulled into his driveway.

Once Micky was inside his house Selene informed him that she had to write something to submit to the newspaper that was due the next day and returned to her house for the rest of the afternoon.

Micky rolled into the bedroom where he opened a closet revealing a box and some other things. He had managed to obtain some leg braces to go with his collection of other medical equipment that Selene had provided to him. He had some crutches, a cane and the braces.

 _"If I'm going to drive that car and please Selene, I have to do this."_ Micky thought to himself as he pulled out and untangled the heavy leg braces laying them out on the bed where he would have access to them later.

Micky remembered that he needed to make a phone call so he decided to take care of that before it became any later.

As Micky dialed the number, he realized that the recipient of this call hadn't heard from him in a while and may not even know about his current condition. He decided to call anyway. After all, this was one of his best friends. It would be ok after the initial shock wore off.

The phone rang on the other end a few times and then someone answered.

The conversation went on for about 20 minutes at which point Micky revealed what exactly had happened to him during the accident. The conversation continued for another 20 minutes on this topic as Micky attempted to reassure his friend that everything was ok and that he was ok.

"I have a favor to ask of you, man..." Micky said to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, I just bought this car to replace the one that was wrecked and I can't exactly drive it right now because i'm still...well, incapacitated at the moment. I had wondered if you'd mind picking it up sometime this weekend and driving it down. I'll pay your way back home." Micky said.

After a nice conversation, Micky hung up the phone and returned to the bedroom where he removed the outfit he had on and replaced it with some lounge clothing that was loose fitting. If he was going to try and rehabilitate himself, he needed to be able to move whether it was voluntary or involuntary.

He decided that it was not best to begin by sitting in the wheelchair if he intended to attempt to get up from it but rather positioned himself on the bed to assemble the leg braces and placed the crutches nearby so that he could access them.

 _"Ok, moment of truth..."_ Micky said aloud to himself as he prepared to try out his legs for the first time since the accident and see if he could make anything below the waist work. Micky moved his legs with his hands to the edge of the bed where he shoved them off and let them dangle onto the floor. He reached for the crutches and positioned them on either side of him so that he could use them to push up into a standing position. Micky pulled himself up into a standing position but realized that his knees were bending and this required a lot of energy to hold himself up like that so he sat back down and then locked the braces into a straight position so that they wouldn't allow his legs to bend at the knee. He tried pushing himself up again, this time succeeding and actually managing to stand up with the braces giving support to his legs.

After he stood up for a few minutes and got past the initial shock of being able to stand again, he attempted to concentrate all of his energy toward moving one foot in front of the other but he couldn't do it with his feet. He had to make the rest of his body entice his leg to scoot forward. He was finding this very difficult and just as he thought it was nearly impossible, he twisted his lower back in such a way that it caused his hips to move dragging his right leg forward but only a few inches. This excited him so he tried to do the same with the other side. After about an hour of practicing this type of motion, he was able to move about the house using the braces and crutches but not efficiently enough to have any normalcy. His movements were extremely stiff and jerky. Like a robot. He would have to work on this and see whether or not he could make his body work.

He had another doctor's appointment coming up in the next two weeks to re-evaluate his condition and see whether or not there had been any improvements to his condition. He had went to two such previous appointments but had not been back since. The first two appointments had shown no progress in his situation and had been very upsetting for him. He was almost considering keeping this appointment and insisting on some sort of physical therapy for rehabilitation.

As Micky sat back down in the wheelchair he decided to leave the leg braces on just to get a feel for them since he would probably end up having to use them for quite a while if they were even a possibility of improving his condition. He had on shorts at the time so his legs and the braces were visible. He unlocked them and positioned his feet on the footrests of the chair then rolled in front of the full length mirror across the room to take a good look at himself.

As he looked into the mirror he could tell that he had lost a lot of muscle in his legs since the accident. They had grown thinner and smaller. Not by much but it was noticeable to him. He looked at the braces and decided that he didn't like the way they looked and that he wouldn't use them while wearing shorts. He would only use them while wearing pants so that they could be covered and more discreet. He really didn't like the appearance that his injuries had given him but there was nothing he could do about that other than live with it.

Micky decided to cook himself a microwave dinner and watch some television since he was alone for the night.

Just as he was going back into the living room with the microwave dinner on his lap his phone rang again. He wasn't really in any mood to answer the phone so he let the answering machine pick it up for him and take a message.

 _"ello Micky?" A British voice said._  
 _"Are you there, mate?"_  
 _"Ay Listen, if you're there, man, give meh a call back."_

 _"Davy...why is Davy calling?"_ Micky thought to himself. _"Davy has no good reason to call."_

Micky positioned himself in front of the television without getting out of his chair. He tried that once and got stuck in the very comfortable recliner and ended up having to have Selene pull him out of it. He didn't want a repeat of that tonight. He didn't want to bother her tonight since he knew that she was working although he knew that she probably wouldn't mind a break to come over and pull him out of his chair if she were asked. Maybe he would save that idea for later.

Over the course of the next few days Micky continued to practice moving around using the leg braces and crutches but something just wasn't working out for him. Something still just wasn't quite right. He ended up surfing the internet some more and found that he may be better benefited by trying a walker rather than the crutches since that would be a little bit easier to balance.

 _"God no!"_ Micky said to himself as he read that and began thinking about how he'd look if he had to use a walker and the leg braces for the rest of his life. He didn't want that but decided to order one anyway if it would benefit him in the long run and since there was a chance of that, he didn't want to stop after he had already made marginal progress.

That night, Micky did not sleep well at all. He was in slight pain that made him uncomfortable. His lower back was hurting and he just couldn't get comfortable and therefore couldn't sleep.

It was still dark whenever he decided to roll himself out of bed the next morning but since he hadn't been able to sleep all night and he was hungry, he really didn't see the point in laying in bed any longer making himself miserable.

Once it was a little later in the morning, Micky decided to return Davy's phone call from a few days ago to see what it was that he wanted. He knew Davy was a morning person so he wasn't worried about him not being awake by 8 AM. He knew that he had to get out pretty early to feed the horses and he loved doing that. It was at that time that he realized that there was a 3 hour time difference from California to Pennsylvania. He would have to wait a few more hours. He passed the time watching The Today Show since nothing else was on. He never understood why they allowed The Today Show to take up the whole morning block of television along with The Early Show on the other network station. He felt that they should put other entertainment on television during those hours because he had a particular disdain for news...especially when it was running on a constant feed along the bottom or top of the screen the way it did sometimes on those shows.

Once it was 8 AM Davy's time, Micky picked up the phone and made the call.

As it turns out, his call earlier in the week to Mike Nesmith who lived only a few hours from him ended up getting back around to Davy. Apparently something very strange had happened. Nesmith had gotten past his Monkees grudge and had decided to call Davy and let him know about Micky's problems and ask him to give Micky support in recovering. The two carried on a nice conversation mostly consisting of how Micky was doing and ended with Davy inviting Micky to visit him in Beavertown if he felt up to it to get away from the city. Just to come hang out. He even suggested that they call Peter and ask him to join as well as Mike. Micky didn't really know how this would all go off, the four of them being together again at Davy's place in Beavertown. They hadn't been together in at least 10 years-all four of them and the last time three of them got together for a tour there were problems that ended with hard feelings toward one another. Micky didn't harbor any ill will toward any of the other guys but ended up approaching the idea with the theory that they were getting together as friends for fun and each other's company, not as a job and for money. He agreed to visit Davy in Beavertown and likewise Davy agreed to call Peter and Micky to call Mike.


	10. Chapter 10

The Man Next Door  
(Part 10)

It was Saturday morning. After the phone conversation with Davy the previous day, Micky felt better. It was nice knowing that other people cared about him even though he would have probably pushed them away the same way he had attempted to push Selene away if they had of been around earlier. The more he thought about it, the more he became anxious about visiting Davy in Pennsylvania. It really sounded like fun. He had to tell Selene about it. He would call her over for lunch today and hopefully his car would be delivered. He had called Mike asking him to go pick up the Mercedes and bring it to him. He was expecting Mike later in the day to arrive with it and possibly stay for lunch.

Around 10 AM, Micky heard his door bell ring and saw a tall gray haired man standing on the other side of the door. It was Mike. Micky opened the door and greeted his longtime friend with a handshake.

"Hey Mike! I'm glad you're here. Come on in and have some coffee or tea or something." Micky said as he tugged a bit at Mike's hand pulling him into the house.

He noticed the look on Mike's face for a split second as Mike returned the handshake and proceeded into the kitchen area of the house placing the keys to the Mercedes on the counter top near the door where he entered.

"My God Micky, I can't believe this has happened to you." Mike said in his usual get to the point sort of way. He was good about getting to the point and Micky had half expected it and was prepared for it.

"I mean I don't want to run it into the ground or anything but it's one of those things that you think will never happen to you and then when it does..."Mike continued as he moved to the kitchen table and took a seat.

Micky rolled over to the counter, picked up the keys to his new car and then rolled over to his place at the table where there was no chair. He began to talk to Mike as he played with the key set for the car on the table inadvertently.

"Things have been real hard for me, Mike." Micky began, staring down at the table and the keys. "I'm lucky to be alive after what happened and I have a special person to thank for that. I don't think I would have pulled through without her. It was her strength and will that made me want to live through it-for her." Micky said in a quiet voice.

"Her? Do you have a girlfriend?" Mike said laughing through his statement.

Micky looked up from the keys and smiled a half smile and nodded his head.

"Well tell me about her, man!" Mike said as he reached across the table slapping Micky's shoulder.

Micky smiled and said "She's coming over for lunch hopefully."

"Well that's just great then. I'll get to meet her in person." Mike said.

"Want some coffee or tea?" Micky offered Mike as he left the table and went to the coffee pot to make some fresh coffee.

"Yeah. Black, please." Mike said.

"Ok, will do." Micky answered back.

The two of them talked for a while about Micky's new relationship with Selene and the conversation ended up with Micky telling Mike about how the car salesman had treated her which led them to talk about the current car sitting in Micky's driveway that Mike had picked up.

"So, how do ya think ya'll are gonna drive that thing?" Mike asked once again with that get to the point stuff that he was good for.

Micky knew that Mike wasn't trying to put him on the spot or anything but rather was just curious as to how this would work out.

"Well, Selene got really upset with me because I haven't been doing anything to help myself and i've just been really depressed lately about the whole situation but I almost lost her." Micky stopped talking and fingered his coffee cup as he stared into it.

"And?" Mike said in order to make him continue.

"And, she nearly left me because I pushed her away. I was afraid that it really wouldn't work out with my age and my injuries and what she would have to take care of for the rest of our lives." Micky explained.

"Wait a minute." Mike said smiling. "Your age?" He continued.

Micky looked up and his face twisted into a giddy little smile.

"You're dating someone a lot younger than you, aren't you?!" Mike said with another laugh then added "I'll bet you've got yourself a little firecracker there, don't you, Dolenz?"

The two of them laughed together and then Micky explained how they had met and how Selene had taken really great care of him even before they were officially together, went above and beyond what he expected and still continued to be a major asset to his life.

"So, getting back to the car, How are ya gonna drive the thing?" Mike repeated.

"Well, like I said, I almost lost Selene so i'm going to try and rehabilitate myself and at least get enough coordination back to drive the car or maybe rig it up someway where I can drive it. I just really want to be able to do that much." Micky explained.

Mike sat there and contemplated what he had just heard from his friend and responded with "That's good, Mick. I think you can manage it."

"Thanks, Mike...Thanks for your support. I appreciate your confidence in me." Micky said as he moved away from the table and to the phone. He called Selene and invited her over for lunch also mentioning that they'd decide what to fix whenever she arrived and that he had someone over that he'd like for her to meet.

"Selene will be right over." Micky told Mike.

"You know, we could do something on the grill for lunch. It's a nice day outside today and i've got some stuff in the freezer that we could use." He informed Mike. "Selene is a great cook. I just thought that we could let her make a suggestion and cook something." Micky added.

"Oh boy, you'd better watch it ordering her around like that." Mike said to him with regard to the cooking remark.

"I wasn't ordering her around. She loves to cook. In fact, it's one of her favorite things to do. Micky informed Mike.

Selene let herself in whenever she got there. For a split second, Mike was surprised that such an attractive young lady had went for Micky in the first place and in the second place, he was surprised that she was so attractive. Micky hadn't described her at all to him at all.

Mike stood up from his chair and made a move toward Selene to shake hands with her and introduce himself.

"Hello." She said as she approached him. "You must be Mr. Nesmith, am I right?" Selene said as they shook hands.

"Yes, that's right dear, but you can call me Mike." He said.

Micky, Selene and Mike sat around the table chatting briefly after introductions had taken place, Selene filled Mike in on her career and such while Micky told her about how long they had known each other and some of the things they had went through over the years. Eventually they decided to have something very simple for lunch. Hamburgers from the grill.

"So, Mike, are you going to be staying at Micky's place or are you going back to Monterrey?" Selene asked.

"Well, I was thinking that I'd like to spend some time with Micky and hang out for a day or three so i'll probably hang around here for a while since he's got the extra room if that's ok with him." Mike stopped and looked over towards Micky. "That is alright with you isn't it?" He added.

"Sure, man! I'd love to catch up but I had something else that I wanted to run by you two." Micky continued. "Davy called the other night and had heard about what happened to me and wanted to know if we'd be interested in coming to his place in Pennsylvania to hang out for a couple of days. Selene's invited too and I told him I'd ask you about it. He's supposed to be calling Peter to see what he's going to be doing but I haven't heard from him yet."

"I don't know about that, Mick..." Mike began. "Dave and I haven't spoken in a while and we didn't exactly end on good terms the last time we were together. Remember that argument that we had that night he got drunk after the show?" Mike said.

"Please Mike!" Micky pleaded with him. "I'd really like to do this and it'd give me a chance to get away from life here and relax a little bit and just hang out with some old friends.

"Well, ok, i'll give it a try but if it doesn't work out, i'm on the first plane back to California. I don't want to cause any problems and i'm only doing this for you." Mike indicated as he took a bite of the burger.

"Selene, what do you think about going to Pennsylvania with us to visit Davy?" Micky asked realizing that he hadn't even got an answer from her after begging Mike to go but knowing that the trip just wouldn't be any fun at all without her.

"I'm game!" Selene said as she reached over and held Micky's hand on the table.

"Ok, then it's settled, we'll get a flight out of here first thing in the morning and leave for Pennsylvania. I'll call Davy tonight and see if he's managed to talk to Peter yet.

"I'm going to go pack my things for tomorrow." Selene said as she got ready to leave. She approached Micky and kissed him quickly on the cheek saying "i'll leave you two to catch up."

Micky followed Selene out the door and told her "I hope you didn't feel like you had to leave or were unwelcome in there. You know, Mike's just not a welcoming sort of fellow. He's kind of...well...rough. I suppose is a good way to describe him and sometimes he can be a little off putting."

"No, heavens no! I didn't get that idea at all. I'm just going to pack my things and let you two catch up. I'll probably come back around sometime later in the afternoon maybe for dinner or something...or you could come over to my place for dinner if you like and I could make something for both of you." Selene offered.

"You know what, that would be great and I think Mike would probably like that. Can we have something country-ish?" Micky asked.

"What do you mean country-ish?" Selene asked.

"Well, you know, things like ham, gravy, biscuits. He loves biscuits!" Micky answered.

"Oh, yeah, sure that's really easy. I figured he wanted something more elaborate that would take some more time. I'll whip up something for you all. Is there anything you would like?" She added before leaving.

"I'll eat whatever you sit in front of me, dear." Micky said with a smile as he turned to go back into the house.

"Micky..." Selene said causing him to turn back around before reaching the door. "I think Mike is charming but he didn't age as well as you did." She said with a wink before leaving.

Micky could feel that he blushed a little bit with that comment. He was only 3 years younger than Mike but did realize that Mike looked a little older and that he had kept himself up a little better but that was just Mike's style. He didn't really care too much for looks.

"Hey Mike..." Micky said as he hung up the phone. "I just talked with Davy and he said tomorrow would be great and Peter is already on his way so he will be there when we get there."

"Well it sounds like Dave got everything together and all we gotta do is show up." Mike said.

The two of them spent the next few hours catching up over the past ten years or so, Micky shared with Mike what a mess his last divorce had been and Mike shared some of his bad experiences but mixed with that were some good experiences. Micky already knew that Mike had gotten remarried and was very happily married but his wife didn't come along with him because she was on a business trip. He was happy for Mike in that respect.

"You know, we should get together and do a jam session when we're all at Davy's." Mike suggested. "It'd bring back old times."

Micky was shocked to hear Mike saying this...possibly even a little horrified because Mike usually didn't make such suggestions. In fact, Mike never made any suggestions for anything positive having anything to do with his days as a Monkee. It was Micky's assumption that Mike had really mellowed out over the past several years.

Before they knew it, it was almost dinner time and Micky could just taste the food in his mouth before he even smelled it. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into one of Selene's biscuits. It had been a while since he had eaten such a thing but he knew that if Selene prepared it, it would be wonderful. He had built up her cooking skill in talking to Mike to the point that he had managed to make Mike's stomach growl a bit too.

"I'm gonna go change my clothes before we leave. I wanna put something else on besides my lounge pants." Micky said as he rolled away to the bedroom.

"Alrighty then, Mick. Mind if I use your other bathroom to clean up a bit in the meantime?" Mike said as he rose from the chair.

"It's upstairs, you can't miss it." Micky said from the downstairs bedroom.

Micky wasn't feeling like dressing up but rather dressing down. He decided to wear some faded blue jeans, his boots and a western style long sleeve shirt with a western print. He hadn't dressed like this in a while but he figured he'd try it out again. That look seemed to work pretty well for him anyway.

Mike came down from upstairs to find Micky ready to go.

"You're starting to look like me, dude." Mike commented.

Micky shrugged as he answered, "Maybe so. I just hadn't worn this in a while and I figured that we'd match and I wouldn't look so out of place."

"Whatever floats yer boat, Mick." Mike said as he headed out the door holding it open for Micky and then closing it behind him.

By now, there was a clear path between the two yards where Selene had repeatedly used the passage in the shrubs to gain access to Micky's yard. It was large enough for him to fit the chair through and easily pass into Selene's driveway. Mike ducked and followed Micky through the hedge into Selene's yard.

"You all do this often?" Mike said as they walked across the driveway.

"Selene goes through here all the time. I don't get out that much unless she takes me somewhere." Micky said as he approached the door.

Selene had arranged her stepping stones in such a way so that they formed a mostly smooth surface that Micky's chair could roll on without getting caught up in the grass and mulch. This extended very nearly from the driveway to the front door.

Micky could smell the food from outside. Mike could too.

"This smells just like grandma's kitchen." Mike noted as he followed Micky to the door.

Micky rang the door bell and waited for a few minutes.

"What, you ring her door bell but she just comes into your house whenever she wants?" Mike noted.

"No, it isn't like that. I could just go in if I wanted to but I don't like doing that. She's a woman, she needs her privacy and I'm going to respect that for now." Micky shot back.

"Ok, man, just cool it, ok?" Mike said as he backed off.

The door opened just at that time releasing the most wonderful smell of baking bread, sausage, gravy, ham and some bacon among other things.

"Come on in, guys!" Selene said as she directed them into the living room. "You're right on time. Dinner's almost done." She said as she went back into the kitchen.

Mike stood by the door leaning up against the wall while Micky rolled on into the living room and made himself at home.

Mike made the observation first of the stack of original vinyl LPs that Selene still hadn't put away that were decorating her coffee table in a neat little stack. The one on top was More Of The Monkees.

"You know, I can't believe you fell for this." Mike said, calm as ever as he walked over and picked up the record holding it up for Micky to see and revealing "Headquarters" and "Pool It!" Underneath in the stack along with "Magnetic South".

"What are you talking about?" Micky said, obviously confused as to the point Mike was trying to get at.

"She's a fan, dumbass! She's just attached herself to you because she figured out who you were. She probably doesn't even really love you. What do you think a girl like that wants with someone our age?" Mike said once again getting right to the point.

Mike continued. "I don't want to hurt you Micky but I think you've been led around by the nose for the past little while. I think she's after your money. I mean earlier you mentioned that you'd like to buy her a car because she told you she liked yours. Don't you get it?!"

Micky was obviously very hurt by what Mike had said but managed to tell Mike in a calm tone of voice "That isn't her. She's not like that. In fact, she had no idea who I was until after the accident..."

"Yeah, and then she decided she'd stick with you and see how far she could ride the train." Mike interjected.

"No! That's not how it happened at all! She's not like that and I know she's not after my money. She has these records because she picked them up an an antique store. She originally only purchased More of The Monkees in the pile that's sitting in her room. It was just a random record that was in with a bunch of others and she didn't even realize that it was us on the cover until I told her about it. At that point, she probably just went out and bought some more stuff to see what we were all about. She said she liked my singing." Micky spouted out.

"Ok, dude. Whatever floats yer boat. I'm not going to say anymore about it because right now I almost want to believe you but I just can't bring myself to do that because I don't know her well enough to judge her." Mike said.

"Ok, i'm willing to go along with that. Just wait until you get to know her. You'll see." Micky said seeming a little less upset with him at this point.

A few minutes later, Selene came around the corner from the kitchen to find Mike still holding records and Micky just looking at him. It seemed like a bit of an awkward moment for the two of them but she only came to tell them that dinner was ready.

Once at the kitchen table Mike opened up conversation by asking her what made her want to buy "Magnetic South".

"Well, you know, I ended up accidentally getting a Monkees album in a stack of vinyl that I bought a while back shortly after I met Micky and then after I listened to it a few times I decided I liked it quite a bit and better yet, I decided that I wanted to see what ever happened to you guys after your group went its separate ways. As you probably saw, I ended up buying a few more albums whenever I ran across them at the record store. I wasn't even expecting to find that one but it was there. I really like it a lot. You're style is pretty close to some of my style." Selene told him.

"You're a performer?" Mike asked, obviously surprised.

"Yeah, I work part time at a local club as a singer. She answered.

"And she puts on one hell of a show down there." Micky added.

"She's got a beautiful voice." He continued, causing Selene to blush.

The three of them ate the meal, Mike going back for extra portions of biscuits and discussed their various lives which eventually led them to clean up the meal and return to their homes. They would need to be at the airport in the morning for a 6 AM flight out of California to Pennsylvania.

Because the new Merdeces was only a 2 seater, they opted to take Selene's Beretta to the airport. Mike found himself somewhat uncomfortable in the back seat of the car but it had to be that way because Micky was not physically able to get in the back seat in his current condition. It would have greatly complicated things. Furthermore, the Beretta wouldn't be a target for a car thief in the parking garage in the same way that the brand new Mercedes would.


	11. Chapter 11

The Man Next Door

(Part 11)

The alarm clock rang in Selene's room at 4:30 AM. She sat up in bed, smacked the thing and continued to sit there for a few minutes to collect herself. She had been in a deep sleep and felt very well rested. She had planned on getting dressed, showering and then grabbing something quick for breakfast for herself and then delivering breakfast to Micky and Mike that she had prepared the night before as a surprise. She quickly completed her morning tasks by 5 AM and then looked out her window facing Micky's house and noticed that one of his lights was turned on which meant that somebody was out of bed. She had placed the items on covered snap-shut Tupperware plates the night before so the only thing that was needed was re-heating of the meals in the microwave. She stacked the two plates one on top of the other and headed through the worn path in the hedges to Micky's house. This time she knocked on his door.

She saw a shadow of a taller man coming to the door. It was Mike. Mike flung open the door and ushered her into the house.

"And what do you have there?" He said as she walked in and placed the items on the counter top beside the microwave.

"Just wait and see!" Selene said to him as she continued working at the counter.

"Where's Micky this morning?" She asked Mike while he was still standing nearby.

"Oh, Mick is still getting dressed. Want me to let him know you're here?" Mike said as he started to walk back toward the bedroom.

"No, that's ok. Don't rush him. He will be out when he gets out." Selene said.

"So how'd you two meet again?" Mike asked her as she popped one of the two plates into the microwave.

She told him briefly how she had just been watching out the window one morning whenever he moved into the house and had no idea who he was and then he had come over and fixed her car.

"I see. So you had no idea who he was even after he told you his name?" Mike asked.

"Nope, no clue. I didn't even know he was a singer. I thought he might have been part of a band whenever I saw the bass guitar and the electric guitar being moved into the house." She added.

Just then the microwave dinged and Selene removed one plate and popped the other one in. While that one was in the microwave, she placed the cover back on top of the other one and then moved to the coffee pot to start some coffee. From there, she got some half and half from the refrigerator and plunked the carton down on the table along with a bottle of ketchup and some mayonnaise.

"What are you tryin' ta feed us, there little lady?" Mike said, obviously disgusted with the combination of items that she had just set out on the table for breakfast.

"Oh, that's for Micky." She said with a smile.

"Should have known." Mike said as he shrugged. "He always did like weird food."

Selene removed the other plate from the microwave and brought both of them to the table returning to the cabinets to get three coffee cups all three of which she filled with hot coffee and sat on the table.

"I'm going to go get Micky in here, we need to eat and get to the airport." Selene said then walked off toward the bedroom.

Whenever Selene entered the bedroom she didn't see Micky right away.

"Micky?" She called out. She saw that the light was on in the bathroom and could see his chair sitting in front of the sink and it appeared that he was at the sink but something was odd about it all.

"Micky, are you ok?" Selene said as she quickly approached the bathroom.

Micky looked up at her as she entered the room and was very clearly upset about something.

"I'm so glad you're here." He said through tears. "I couldn't sleep at all again last night." He said. "And then I realized that Davy's house isn't going to be accessible and well...I know what you said about me being a burden on everyone and thinking like that but i'm not going to even be able to get in the house. There's a lot of steps to both doors and I just didn't think about it. I doubt if he did either. Sometimes Davy's heart overshoots his thought process." Micky said through a sniffle.

"I know you didn't lose sleep for the past few nights over Davy's house being inaccessible. Something else is going on. Look at you! You look like you've been dragged through the wringers!" Selene said as she moved in closer and tilted his face so that she could look into his eyes. She could see the dark circles that were getting darker from lack of sleep.

"It's the pain." Micky finally said, looking up at her.

"Pain? Micky, what's wrong with you?" Selene said with a note of worry in her voice.

"I don't know. I just have pain at night in my back Whenever I lay down and I can't get to sleep because of it. It's horrible and sometimes its worse than others." He explained, not really wanting to tell Selene about it but knowing that if he didn't tell her she would find out anyway.

"Ok, that settles it. You know that doctor's appointment that you had set up that's scheduled for next week? Well you're keeping it. Whenever we get back from Pennsylvania, you're going to see the doctor about this mysterious pain that you've been having." Selene ordered.

Micky agreed to keep his doctor's appointment as Selene reached for a washcloth from the closet and wet it with cool water for him. She dabbed at his face cleaning up the last of the tears he had been crying.

"Are you upset with me?" Micky asked after he had collected himself.

"No." Selene said as she pulled his chair out away from the sink enough so that she could sit on his lap and pull him into a kiss. He needed that kiss. "It's ok. I don't want you to just bottle up everything inside you like this anymore until it comes out. It's ok to talk about it. I just don't want you to feel sorry for yourself in the process." She explained to him. "I never meant to make you feel like I didn't want to hear about it and if it bothers you this much please let me know in the future." She continued.

Micky agreed and then went out to the kitchen where he had a hot breakfast waiting for him. For that he was grateful. It made him feel better and for some reason he had gained a new sense of security after talking with Selene.

Over breakfast Mike too realized that Davy's house wasn't accessible to Micky so it was mentioned however, they all agreed that they would make it work no matter what it took. Micky also agreed that he wouldn't let him self feel as though he was a burden to anyone who offered help to him but rather that he would be receptive, appreciate the help and just enjoy the trip and company.

Later in the morning they were off to the airport. The group of three walked onto the plane and found their seats. Selene had the window seat, Micky was beside her and Mike was on the aisle.

Micky being in the middle of the two of them could talk to either of them without much difficulty.

"You think anyone will recognize us?" Micky said to Mike as some other people began to file into the plane and take their seats.

Mike took a look at the people who were getting on the plane and then turned to Micky. "Maybe their grandmothers would recognize us but I think we're safe for the moment." Mike said as Micky chuckled about it.

Mike had brought a hat with him and at that point put it on.

"Micky..." Selene said, a tinge of nervousness in her voice.

"Hmmm?"

"I've never been on a plane before." She said to Micky, obviously a little frightened.

Micky moved to hold her hand with both of his hands and reassure her that everything would be alright.

"Well, flying is like floating in the air. Basically you don't feel anything unless we hit turbulence and then the plane feels like it's flying through an earthquake." Micky explained.

"Mick, I think you just done a great job of [i]NOT [/i]putting her mind at ease.

"No, it's ok, i'm just a little uneasy about being that high up in the air and sitting near a window." Selene added as she refrained from looking out the window and instead looked at Micky and Mike.

"wanna switch seats with me so you'll be on the aisle?" Mike asked then added "I've done this so many times it's like second nature to me. We've probably spent half our lives on planes and in buses."

"Yeah, I think I'd like that a little better." Selene said as the two of them swapped seats.

As the plane began to taxi onto the runway and eventually take off, Micky held Selene's hand to comfort her during the process and told her that everything would be ok. Once the plane was in the air, the flight attendant later offered some snacks. Selene passed on snacks because she had been feeling so nervous from the flight that she couldn't eat anything at the moment. Mike and Micky both had snacks and bottled water.

"Could I have a sip of your water?" Selene asked Micky after she had seen that he was probably finished with it and had put the cap back on it.

He handed the water to her by the cap and she drank the remainder in the bottom of the bottle.

"So about how long do you think it will take to fly to Pennsylvania?" Selene asked Micky and Mike.

They all agreed that it would take only a few hours since it was a straight through flight.

The seat belt light came on in the plane letting them know that they would be landing soon. Shortly after that, they felt the plane begin to descend. Selene leaned over toward the window so that she could peek over the edge of it and see some land at a distance but quickly jerked back to her own seat after nearly making herself sick looking out the window as the plane went down.

"Careful, sweety." Micky said as he put his hands on her to guide her back into her seat.

"Don't be looking out the window and makin' yerself puke just yet." Mike added. "That'll make ya feel bad all day."

Once the group arrived in the airport terminal, Micky pulled out a cell phone that he had brought with him and began dialing a number. He had a short conversation and then hung up.

"Davy's waiting for us on the other side of the airport." Micky said to the group.

So how far is it from here to Davy's house?" Selene asked.

"Well, let's see, we're in Harrisburg now...I think we're about an hour and a half away, maybe not that much." Mike answered.

The group finally ended up at the other side of the airport where Micky was the first to spot his longtime friend. Davy was leaning against the wall, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt from Susquehanna University just looking out the window.

Mike trailed behind a little bit while Micky was eager to see his friend after such a long time. Mike was not quite so eager at this point.

"Let them talk for a few minutes alone." Mike said as he tugged at Selene's arm.

Mike and Selene waited while Micky went over to where Davy was standing. They couldn't hear what was being said but shortly after Micky announced himself to Davy, they saw Davy turn around surprised and somewhat shocked then the two men shared a hug. After that, Micky turned around and noticed that his other accomplices were not right behind him but standing a good distance away watching. He motioned for them to come over. Mike still trailed behind but Selene encouraged him to at least be social since Davy was being cordial.

"He's making an effort to be friendly, you should too. Just let the grudge go, whatever it is. Whoever is at fault, let it go, Mike." Selene said to him as they approached.

Selene couldn't believe how small Davy was. She knew he was shorter than the rest of them but he was small in a cute sort of way. No wonder all the girls went crazy over him. He still kept his handsome looks even at his age.

"ello dear!" David said as he moved around Micky to greet her. "And you must be Selene, is it?" He said.

Selene smiled and nodded. "Mmm hmm."

Selene nudged Mike at which point he greeted David as well.

"Mike, i'm so glad you decided to come. It's been such a long time since we've talked!" Davy said as he gave the tall Texan a hug just as he had given Micky whenever he first saw him.

"Nice to see you too, Dave." Mike said. "How've ya been?" Mike asked Davy.

"Things have been going really well. I've bought some more horses, i'm still touring a few times a year and things are just really relaxed right now in my life." Davy answered.


	12. Chapter 12

The Man Next Door

(Part 12)

Selene left the conversation in the kitchen and crept into Micky's room. The morning light filled the room from the large windows. Selene approached the side of the bed and looked at Micky. He was sleeping peacefully at this point and looked like he hadn't moved all night. For Selene, this was a sign that he had probably had a good, restful night's sleep without any pain to keep him awake.

Selene didn't want to wake him up since he was sleeping so peacefully but knew that the others would be ready to head out after breakfast. She decided to go eat her own breakfast and then wake him, allowing him to sleep a little longer. Peter wasn't yet out of bed so they wouldn't leave without Peter. Besides, they had to pack a lunch as well if they planned on being gone most of the day. That would take time.

Selene bent down and kissed Micky's face then left the room returning to the kitchen.

"He's sleeping so peacefully right now. I didn't want to wake him up just yet." She explained to Davy and Mike as the three of them sat down to eat breakfast. She continued "Peter wasn't up yet so I figured that he would eat breakfast and we'd pack a lunch and by that time, Micky would be awake and could eat his breakfast."

"Sounds good." Davy said, pouring lots of syrup over his pancakes.

Micky cracked his eyes opened to what seemed like a blinding white light that eventually registered as sunlight that was pouring into the windows. It just seemed ultra bright since he had been asleep and his eyes hadn't adjusted to it.

As he lay on his back in the bed he mentally assessed the situation and came to realize that he was not experiencing any pain at the moment, he had experienced a restful night's sleep and was feeling rather energetic. He hadn't felt _energetic_ in a long time.

 _"Energetic. Right. Ok old man, what are you gonna do with your energy?"_ he thought to himself as he laid in bed and pondered that thought for a while before he realized that he was feeling sorry for himself again and stopped the thought. Just then, Selene quietly peeked around the door. Micky picked his head up off the pillow to get a good look at her. She was dressed in tight fitting faded jeans and a white T-Shirt with a Chevrolet bow tie in red across the breast tucked in loosely around the waist. Her blond hair was tied back in a loose ponytail away from her face.

Immediately any thoughts he was having left his mind.

"Hey." He said, still feeling slightly groggy from sleeping.

"hello luv." She said back to him mocking Davy's British accent.

He noticed that she had something in her hands at this point.

"And that is?" he asked referring to the items in her hands.

"Your breakfast on a tray. I figured you could eat it in here and that'd save you a little bit of time. Peter still hasn't eat breakfast yet so we won't be leaving for a little bit. Davy's already went out to get the horses ready." she explained to him as she sat the tray down on the table beside the bed.

"Thanks for breakfast." Micky said as he wiggled himself up in bed to a sitting position so that Selene could prop some pillows behind him.

Micky took the tray and sat it on the bed.

By this time, Selene had already picked out his clothes for the day and laid them out on the foot of the bed easily accessible to him for whenever he finished breakfast. Today Micky would wear his blue jeans, a black t shirt and the flannel shirt over top of that with his sneakers. She had packed a brown suede western looking hat that she had found in his collection just because she thought it looked good. She picked up the flannel shirt and draped it around his shoulders. It was no wonder he was cold. He had slept in nothing but underwear last night and was now sitting there out from under the covers from the waist up.

Micky stopped eating and asked her "How did you know I was cold?"

"Because you had goose bumps all over your body." She said back to him as though to state the obvious.

With a more compassionate look on his face he extended a hand to Selene who was just out of his reach and motioned for her to come back to him. Once she was there, he took her hand and looked her in the eye telling her "I just want you to know that I think you do this stuff because you're a genuinely thoughtful person and I really love that about you. Thank you."

"It's no problem. I just want you to feel good." She said.

"Selene, Thanks for putting my clothes out too. I like the outfits that you pick out for me. They always look so nice." He added.

"Whenever you're finished, get dressed. Peter is probably up by now." She said as she left the room.

Micky finished eating within the next 10 minutes and got dressed in the outfit that she had laid out for him. Once in the wheelchair, he rolled into the bathroom where he looked himself over in a mirror and thought to himself _"She likes the tight jeans and western look apparently."_ It had been forever since Micky had worn the brown suede hat but he also liked the way it looked with this particular outfit.

By the time Micky came out of his room, Peter was finishing up his breakfast and Mike, Davy and Selene were packing a lunch for the group.

"Morning, Micky!" Peter said as soon as Micky came into the kitchen.

"Hey, Pete." Micky replied.

"It looks like it's going to be a lovely day for horseback riding today." Peter added looking out the window near the breakfast table.

The two of them talked a bit about the weather but as soon as Selene was out of earshot, Peter asked Micky about her. "So how serious is it, man?"

"It's getting there." Micky replied in a nonchalant way not wanting to say too much after hearing some of Mike's thoughts on the issue of Selene.

"So, how is she in bed." Peter prodded in a fun sort of way, not really intending anything bad by that remark and obviously not realizing the challenges of a man in Micky's condition.

Micky shot Peter a stern look and told him "We haven't been to bed yet." leaving it at that.

"Ok, sorry man. I didn't know. I'm sorry." Peter said repeatedly.

"I didn't meant to imply..." Peter stopped realizing that Micky hadn't taken the remark as a shot at _his_ inability to perform but rather he took it offensively with regard to Selene.

"She doesn't just hop into bed with everybody that comes along. I'm not even sure she's been in bed with a man before. We haven't discussed it." Micky explained, quieting his tone as Selene came back around from the pantry with some more canned chicken.

"Ok, we're all ready!" Davy said a few minutes later. Peter and Mike helped Micky out the door the same as he had entered the day before and sat the chair on the ground. The chair was rather difficult to move in grass so for that reason, Micky allowed Peter to push him out to the barn where the ground was more solid. Selene walking beside him.

"Ok, Mike, I've got this horse for you to ride. Her name's Shay." Davy said as he brought around a beautiful auburn colored horse from the stables saddled up and ready to go.

"And for Peter and myself, the twins, May and June." he said as he brought around two solid white horses handing the ties both to Peter to hold as he returned to the stables and fetched one last horse. This one was a large black horse.

"I've only got one more horse out here. This one's name is Jett and it will be for Micky and Selene." He said as he brought the horse around to Micky handing him the tie.

"This one will lay down for you." Davy said as everyone else giggled at the remark.

"Well, how should we ride that thing?" Micky asked Davy.

"You will ride in front, Selene will ride in back so that you don't fall off. She can help hold you on." Davy said.

"Ok, that works." Micky said. A little uncertain.

Davy made the horse lie down on the ground so that its back was actually on the same level that Micky's chair was on and he could easily get onto the horse. Once Micky was on the horse, Selene also got on the horse behind Micky. Davy made the horse stand up at this point. Davy put one of Micky's feet in the stirrup on one side while Mike got the foot on the other side and Davy handed Micky the reigns.

"Just hold it right there." Davy instructed Micky as he turned toward the wheelchair that was left sitting in the yard. "i'm going to put this thing in the stable for when we get back."

Davy took the wheelchair into the stables and then returned. His horse had all the saddlebags with the day's provisions contained therein.

"Ok, everybody ready?" Davy shouted over his shoulder once he was on his horse and began to trot in the direction of the woods behind his house.

The others followed behind him with Micky and Selene bringing up the rear.

"Micky, are you comfortable like this?" Selene asked him.

"Yeah, couldn't be better." He answered.

"Why don't you hold onto me so you don't fall off the horse..." He told her, at which point he felt her hands snake around his waist and rest on his waistline where she tucked her thumbs into his pants to hold her hands there. Micky didn't say anything but it both excited him and saddened him to have a woman's hands that close to being in his pants. It excited him because he could feel her hands there but is saddened him to realize that this was probably _all_ he would feel. Nothing below that point was functional.

As the group went along at a fair pace along the wooded trail up the side of the mountain behind Davy's house, they had numerous conversations about numerous things. Selene was quiet for the most part. She realized that these four guys hadn't seen each other in quite a while and that they were bonding with each other in an almost brotherly way. She didn't want to step in the way of that. She felt that it was excellent for Micky to have the support of these three longtime friends of his more so than her own support. This really meant something to him. She could feel it.

After a couple of hours of conversation and riding, they came to a spot in the woods that was a small clearing.

"This is the place where we will eat lunch." Davy said as he hopped off his horse. Mike and Peter doing likewise. Just realizing at this point that they had no idea how Davy made Jett lie down they sat on the horse. Selene couldn't get off without knocking Micky off balance since he couldn't really hold on with his legs or move his feet from the stirrups.

Davy approached Jett at which point he motioned Micky to hand over the reigns. Davy led the horse near where they were going to eat and tugged the reigns so that the horse laid down. Micky saw his feet touch the ground which in tern bent his knees. Selene hopped off the horse at this point since her feet could touch the ground and proceeded to assist Micky in removing his feet from the stirrups. Peter and Mike had already spread a blanket on the ground nearby. A big blanket. It was actually right beside where the horse had laid down so that Micky could easily crawl over to it without too much trouble. Davy was tending to the other horses that were now tied to trees around the area. while Peter and Mike helped Micky off of his horse and then, one on either side of him, walked him to the blanket where they lowered him to a sitting position.

Mike took Jett to a tree near where the other horses were tied then returned to the blanket.

Selene assisted Micky in finding a comfortable position to sit without losing balance and then sat down beside him on the blanket. Micky had decided to lay on his side and prop up on his arm as opposed to sitting. It was more comfortable that way and he found the Pennsylvania sky to be lovely. Davy, Peter and Mike had already gotten into the sandwiches that were prepared earlier and bottled water.

"Here, Mick." Mike said as he handed Micky one of the sandwiches from the bag containing their food.

"Thanks." Micky said as he took the sandwich and laid it on the blanket without unwrapping it in order to accept a bottled water from Mike as well.

Selene had sat down next to Micky on the blanket, Davy on the other side of Micky and Mike and Peter across from them.

"These are some good sandwiches." Mike said, opening his sandwich to see just what was in the chicken salad.

"Davy and Selene made them." Peter added.

"Well, Selene mixed up the chicken salad. It's amazing what that girl can do with canned chicken." Davy said, taking a bite of the sandwich.

Micky had unwrapped his sandwich at this point and taken a bite or two.

"Thanks for letting us come out here today, Davy." Micky said whenever the usual chatting became quiet as everyone ate their food. "I've really had a great time so far." Micky added.

"That's great, man. That's what I had hoped for. I'm glad that we're all together out here like this too. It's nice. Wish we could do it more often" Davy said.

Davy got up and returned to his horses upon finishing his sandwiches, Peter followed. Mike continued to sit on the blanket for a while but then felt awkward being there with Micky and Selene and sensed that they would probably enjoy some time alone before they had to get back on the horse again and ride back to the house so he also joined Davy.

Once Mike was gone, Micky finished off the last few bites of his sandwich and then drank some of his water putting the cap back on in between each drink so that it didn't tip over and spill. The ground wasn't exactly level. Selene had the sudden urge to pluck the brown suede hat from his head and try it on herself so she did just that.

"Hey!" Micky said whenever she removed the hat from his head.

Selene put the hat on her own head at which point Micky rolled over onto his stomach propping up on his elbows to look at her. "Well don't you look cute?" He said to her just before he lunged toward her using his elbows to pull himself and reached for the hat. Selene allowed herself to tip over whenever he done this at which point he found himself on top of her with his arms around her waist and his head on her chest. He immediately rolled around so that he could be on eye level with her. The hat fell off her head whenever she tipped over and landed slightly behind her to the right.

"Lose something?" Micky said as he pushed himself up on one arm and picked up the hat, replacing it on his head with his free hand laughing.

Selene, knowing how precarious this position would be for him swatted his hand out from under him causing him to fall back down on the blanket but catching him in her lap. The two of them were play-wrestling on the blanket at this point.

"Look at him." Mike said to Peter and Davy. "I don't know what's worse, Micky back in the day or Micky now..."

"I'm just glad he's happy. He wasn't happy for a long time with his last marriage. Peter said.

"Yeah, they look really happy together and Selene seems to take such good care of him. Davy added.

"Mike, you haven't said much about Selene." Davy said. "What do you think of her?" He waited. "Mike?" Davy said again to get his attention.

"She's too young for him." Mike said point blank. "Honestly, I don't think it will last."

Both Peter and Davy looked at Mike dumbfounded with what they had just heard. "I can't believe you'd say something that cruel!" Davy shot back at Mike.

"Guys, let's not argue about things. Micky's having a great time today. We shouldn't do anything to ruin it for him. Let him be happy." Peter said as he begged Davy and Mike not to argue. They each went back to what they were doing-feeding their respective horses treats and making sure that they had enough water to drink.

"If you like it, i'll let you have it. It looks nice on you." Micky said to Selene as he now lay in her lap, the hat resting on his stomach.

"Nah, that's alright. I don't wanna take your hat. You might sunburn your head." She said through a giggle.

"I've got lots more where that came from." he told her. "Go ahead, put it on. I like the way it looks on you." He added.

Selene took the hat and set it atop her head. She didn't want to say too much about it but she secretly _loved_ having something of Micky's.

"There, now you look like a real cowgirl." He told her.

Selene continued to hold his head in her lap, the hat on her head shading the sun from his eyes as they talked for several more minutes before Peter came over with Jett for Selene and Micky. Davy had left Mike alone and instead come to assist Micky in getting back on his horse.

Selene got on the horse first and then Micky was helped onto the horse by Peter and Davy, his feet placed back in the stirrups. "There ya go man, you're ready to go." Davy said as he pulled the horse back into a standing position.

Once the horse was standing, Selene put her arms around Micky's waist once again and this time gently tugged him backwards toward her.

"It's ok if you want to lean into me." She told him at which point he did lean backward into her a bit. This made him a little more comfortable on the ride back. He was secretly loving it and secretly emotionally feeling quite horny. He let the thoughts stop there. He wanted to keep it a happy thought of enjoyment rather than thinking about the possibility of _not_ being able to rise to the occasion or the possibility that he would have to make the most intimate part of his care vulnerable by revealing it to Selene in a bedroom situation.

The group returned to Davy's stables that afternoon. After Peter and Mike assisted Micky off of Jett and got him back into the wheelchair, each person returned their horse to the stables and made sure the horses were well taken care of, had food and water and even brushed the horses. Micky and Selene likewise took care of Jett. While feeding Jett, Micky watched Selene remove the saddle, the blanket underneath the saddle and the bridle from the horse and couldn't help but think that she looked like a really hot cowgirl in that hat of his and those tight jeans. Once again he felt emotionally horny like he had earlier.

Later that evening the five of them decided that they would prepare something for dinner to eat out on Davy's side porch which wasn't a porch at all. It was, in reality now a remodeled sun room/porch. Mike ended up rounding up the ingredients for a recipe that he called "Cowboy Beans" which seemed appropriate for the group to eat. It was starting to become slightly chilly outside after sundown so a warm meal was welcoming to all of them. As it turns out, Mike was a pretty good cook but credited his grandmother with the insanely simple recipe that he had conjured up.

"I think tomorrow I'll go into town and check out some of the Amish shops." Selene said

"That sounds like a fun thing to do." Micky added.

"Davy, where's the best places?" Selene asked.

"Well, if you go down the road toward Beaver Springs you will find lots of little Amish places that will sell you things. Some of them sell food items while others will sell you things they've made." he answered to her question.

Selene took all of their bowls and returned them to the kitchen sink for washing. She returned a little while later with a pot of freshly brewed tea that she had made as sort of an after dinner treat that she had hoped would keep the guys in the sun room chatting for a little while longer. She wanted to be sure and give Micky some time alone with his friends and not hog all of his time while he was there. She knew the relationship between these four men, while complicated and at times, troubling-went back 40 some years prior to her relationship with Micky which had only been going on for about 4 months.

After several "thank yous" from the guys in the sun room to Selene for the hot tea served to them, she left the teapot on the serving tray on an end table for them should they want more. She was mindful not to use caffeinated tea because it was already 7:30 and she had hoped that she would be able to help Micky sleep like she had been able to do last night. If he could get a few more nights of good sleep in before he returned to California, he'd be in great shape.

Selene returned to the kitchen to clean up the dinner dishes along with the kitchen and the items returned from the day's horseback riding trip while the men talked in the sun room. What she wasn't aware of was the conversation that was taking place in there.

"So Micky, when are you gonna nail her?" Davy said, obviously acting like a dirty minded idiot as he had so often tended to do when he was younger. This kind of discussion was acceptable for these four about each other's girlfriends to some extent and was often not taken seriously or wrong. In this instance, it was immediately apparent that Micky did not like that line of questioning and that he had developed a high respect for Selene and would prefer that she not be talked about like that. Additionally, he was unsure of how to perform in his situation and did not wish to discuss this.

"I'm _not_ going to _nail_ her." Micky said bluntly, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"Ok, sorry man, I overstepped the line on that one." Davy said in a sincere apologetic tone.

"I'm not even sure I could like this." Micky said, an uncertainty in his voice

Mike and Peter looked at each other.

"I'll rephrase that." Davy said. "When are you going to pop the question?"

Micky really hadn't given this much thought. He had just figured that Selene wouldn't want to marry him just yet if ever and hadn't let those thoughts linger in his mind. It made him sad to think about her having to deal with him for the rest of his life and nervous at the same time because she would then get to know him intimately.

"I...I really hadn't given it that much thought. Micky answered, obvious surprise in his voice that they seemed to think she'd make him a good wife.

"She seems really sweet." Davy said. "She cares for you deeply."

"Yeah, I saw you two today playing with that hat that you ended up giving to her." Peter said.

Mike sat there silent for the moment listening to the other three talk.

"So, are you ready to get married again?" Peter asked. "It's been a while since the divorce."

Micky contemplated this before he answered it then looked up at his three friends and said sincerely "Yes...yes I am ready to get married again and I would love for Selene to be my wife one day-just not now. Not like this." He looked down at his legs then back up at them.

"You only go around once, pal." Mike said. "Might as well go around and have no regrets. If you want to do something, you should do it."

He couldn't believe that he had just heard Mike suggest that it was ok for him to marry Selene after some of the previous things he'd been saying about her.

"I've got the perfect idea." Davy said as he moved in closer to Micky, the other two huddled inward as well.

After their discussion, Peter strolled out into the kitchen where he found Selene wiping up around the sink. Everything was clean.

"So, were you still planning on going shopping tomorrow at some of the local Amish places?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, why?" she said.

"I was just wondering if it'd be ok if I came with you. I'd like to buy a quilt if I can find one. Besides, it's probably not a good idea for you to go around alone." Peter said, feeling like this was the dumbest thing ever for him to go with her as a means of making sure that she didn't return home too soon. Davy, Mike and Micky had plans of their own. It would take Davy and Mike to assist Micky on _his_ little outing for tomorrow. Furthermore, the Amish aren't known for being interested in tourist in a romantic or sexual manner and posed no threat to Selene whatsoever that would have reasonably required someone to accompany her on the day trip.

"Yeah, that'd be alright with me. I'll be leaving around 9 AM in the morning." She told him.

"Great!" Peter said. "I'll be ready by then."

Selene thought it kind of odd for a split second that Peter had asked to go with her but then just figured she'd make sure Micky didn't want to go with her for some odd reason tomorrow. She didn't think that he'd be too interested since he'd been enjoying the company of his friends all this time but she would still ask him. Selene went upstairs to shower for the night and change into her PJs.

Meanwhile, everyone else went to their respective rooms to get ready for bed.

Micky was still feeling turned on just by thinking about the day's happenings as he laid out his boxer shorts and this time a white t-shirt to sleep in before going to the shower. Showering was getting a little easier for him with the help of the shower chair. Davy had put a shower chair in there for Micky that he himself had used a while back when his back went out.

He had just put himself into bed and pulled the covers up whenever a stabbing pain wrenched his lower back and the top of his thigh. The pain was so sharp that it very nearly made him cry out loud. This was the worst one he had experienced thus far. He held his leg as the pain gradually subsided enough for him to lay back down again. Once he laid back down it wasn't too long before another stabbing pain hit. These things seemed to be happening intermittently. Nonetheless, he couldn't get comfortable and there would be no way that he would be able to go to sleep. It also seemed that having this pain drained him quickly.

at 10:15 Micky heard a knock at his door followed by Selene's voice "Can I come in?" She asked quietly, pushing the door open only a crack.

"yeah, come on in." Micky said to her as he attempted to mask another pain in his back and leg.

It was dark in the room except for the light coming from a small nightlight in the bathroom. As Selene walked across the room in her PJs, Micky once again was caught up in her and actually didn't notice the pain as much after that. She came and sat on the opposite side of the bed putting her feet up so that she was on top of the covers and he was underneath them.

"So, what brings you down here?" Micky asked her, trying to look happy despite the pain he was having that he didn't want her to know about.

"Couldn't sleep." She answered. "Just thought i'd come and talk to you until I got sleepy if that's ok. She said.

"I'll talk to you anytime, baby." Micky said with a smile.

Selene couldn't help but think that Micky with his hair down was just a tad frightening. He really did look like a different person when it wasn't slicked back in that suave ponytail that she was accustomed to seeing him wear. In fact, not a lot of people saw him any other way. Rather than thinking of it as a bad thing, she chose to think of it as something that they shared. After all, he did seem comfortable not wearing his hair tied back in front of her which in turn revealed the bald spot on his head quite clearly that it usually covered. She knew that he simply wore his hair like that to maintain the appearance of not being bald because he was somewhat self conscious. It wasn't something that bothered her.

"I couldn't sleep either." Micky said to her, not bothering to sit up in bed. He was afraid that he would aggravate the pain if he moved.

"Want me to bring you some more Chamomile tea? Selene asked as she brushed his frizzy hair away from his face. She couldn't stand it when the hair ended up on his face. For some reason that bothered her.

"Maybe just a little bit...and fix it just like you did last night." Micky said without thinking then added "It tasted really nice last night." He didn't want to indicate that it helped his pain greatly because he didn't want her to know that he was having pain. He was also having trouble sleeping because he knew that he would be going out tomorrow with the guys.

"Ok, i'll be right back." Selene said as she slid off the bed and walked out the door. Micky loved that little tank top that she wore for pajamas with the silky pants. It flowed with her as she moved.

A few minutes later, Selene returned with a single cup of tea in hand. She had once again drugged the tea with a heavy dose of Ibuprofen. She knew this is what had helped Micky after last night's experiment but she felt bad about doing that. She would tell him what she had done after his doctor's appointment but for now she wanted him to be able to enjoy the trip pain free.

"Here ya go!" She said, as she walked toward him and sat the cup down on his night stand turning the lamp on before she resumed her seat on the opposite side of his bed.

"I'm still not sleepy." She said to him.

Micky had propped himself up in bed after she left which caused him an enormous amount of pain. In fact, the pain was getting so severe that he almost wanted to tell her about it so he wouldn't have to hide it anymore but he knew if he did tell her that they'd be on the next flight back out to California to see his doctor. He wanted to spend the rest of the week at Davy's house as originally planned with his friends.

"I don't know what you put in this stuff, but it's really great." Micky told her as he sipped some more of it.

"You look slightly tense, Micky." Selene noted. She slid in closer to him and began to massage his shoulders. Any other time, this would have felt great and he would have loved the one on one contact he was getting from Selene. This time it immediately initiated more pain in his lower back to the point that he asked her to stop after only a few minutes of massaging.

"Micky are you alright?" Selene asked him after she stopped with the massage, loosely wrapping her arm around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. Although he hadn't told her anything, she knew that he was in pain which made her glad that she drugged the tea once again for him. She hoped that this continued to help his situation as it had the night before.

"Yeah." He whispered as he leaned into her.

Rather than massage his back, she allowed him to lean into her. She instead found herself gently rubbing his head and playing with his hair. It was a good thing she couldn't see the look of pain across his face but that gradually diminished as the drugged tea took effect.

After about 15 minutes of Micky leaning into her and getting his head rubbed and hair played with, she realized that she had put him to sleep. She managed to tilt him back over onto the pile of pillows at which point he subconsciously curled his arms around her.

After she reasoned with herself on the issue of what Micky's friends would think about her and better yet-him if she spent the night in his room, she decided that she would just act like she had been up all along and just checked in on him if anyone asked any questions. She didn't care if they thought she was a slut. She knew she wasn't and better yet, Micky knew that she wasn't either. Micky would still love her in the morning. Nothing would change there.

Soon, Selene fell asleep too.


	13. Chapter 13

The Man Next Door

(Part 13)

Micky woke up sometime before daybreak to find himself slightly confused due to the odd positioning he found himself in. At that point, he realized that someone else was in bed with him and shortly after that realization, he quickly realized that he had been sleeping on Selene.

His eyes focused on the clock across the room. He could barely see it in the darkness but there was just enough light filtering into the room from the night light in the bathroom so that he could see that it was 4:20 AM.

" _I must've fell asleep last night before Selene left_." Micky thought to himself as he carefully rolled off of her and onto his own side of the bed and onto his own pillow. In doing so, he was in such a position so that he could look up at her face while she was sleeping.

" _She's beautiful_." he thought to himself as he pondered what the other guys would think of him if they realized that she had spent the night in his room. He decided to wake her and give her the chance to go back upstairs before anyone else woke up. She would be getting up in about 2 hours anyway. She would still have time to go back to sleep and if she couldn't, that would be ok too. She looked well rested.

Gently Micky nudged her arm. Whenever this didn't rouse her he nudged a little harder until finally he shook her a little bit. With this she woke up slightly startled at the shaking but quickly gathered her bearings and realized that it was just Micky.

"What is it?" She whispered to him and before he had time to answer "Are you ok?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I'm fine. I just woke up and realized that you were still here. You must have fallen asleep last night in here or something. I woke you up so you could go back to your room before anyone saw you coming out of here." Micky said.

"Oh, right!" Selene said suddenly realizing once again the thought that would be implied if she were to come out of Micky's room in front of everyone.

She kissed Micky on the forehead. "Thanks for waking me up. Do you need anything before I leave?" She asked him.

"No...Just a kiss." He said as he smiled. She obliged his request for a kiss and nearly ended up on top of him in bed. During this kiss, she ended up flinging one leg over top of him so that she was now straddling him in bed, she on top of the covers and him underneath. His hands ran down her body to the lowest part of her waistline and stopped. Micky didn't want to go any further. Little did he realize that he was hard as a rock under the covers and hornier than ever. Selene felt this beneath the covers at which point she ended their little escapade in bed and retreated to her room upstairs to think about what she had just experienced.

Selene had never experienced anything like that. She had in the past allowed the thought of sex to cross her mind. She knew the mechanics of it but had never tried it. She was still a virgin. She knew that Micky wasn't but still felt like the first time for her would be like the first time for him considering his new limitations and how they would be working with that. She doubted that it would be anywhere the same as any previous experience for him but at least now she knew that everything was working properly despite his injuries. Selene crawled into her bed and pulled the covers up but she couldn't sleep. She just laid there thinking about everything until time to get up.

Micky initially had no idea what he had just done but he knew one thing. He was feeling turned on again in a big way. In fact, he was so turned on at that moment that he had broke a sweat and felt sticky even in the cool bedroom. Normally at this hour it would be considered chilly in the house by most. Micky ripped off the t-shirt he had been wearing and tossed it to the foot of the bed and then threw back some of the covers leaving only the sheet remaining. This was still too warm for him so he decided to take it a step further. He would throw the sheet back also at least until he cooled off. It was at this point that he noticed the budge in his boxers and realized that things still seemed to be working right for him sexually despite the fact that he was physically unable to relieve himself without the use of a catheter.

This excited him because he knew now that perhaps he would have some sort of a chance at pleasing Selene if the time came. This gave Micky an added sense of security with some of the issues he'd been struggling with the entire time since his accident but the question still remained as to whether or not Selene would want to be with him whenever it came down to it. For some reason he still doubted that she'd want to be with him. He hadn't mentioned anything to Selene about his personal care routines since he found it unattractive and did not want her to have to see that or be involved with it.

Later that Morning, Selene and Peter were off to go shopping for Amish stuff while Micky, Davy and Mike were getting ready for their outing. The three of them used Davy's car. Davy had left the keys for his truck on the kitchen table the night before with a note for Selene telling her she could use his truck. With Peter in place to keep Selene from coming home to find out the rest of the guys had went out somewhere, everything should work out just fine.

Once Micky, Mike and Davy were in the car, they drove to several nearby towns to do some shopping. Micky ended up buying himself a new suit. A white one complete with a new fedora to match. All of his friends agreed that he looked very nice indeed! They then went to a new custom jewelry store that had just opened up in town that Davy was aware of to look at engagement rings. There were many rings that were already custom made for the buying. Instead of having something custom made for Selene, Micky chose instead to purchase something ready made and have it custom inscribed since the jeweler could take care of that in just a few minutes on the same day.

The three guys intently looked over many engagement rings and wedding sets until finally Micky saw the one that he deemed perfect. It wasn't too big nor was it too small. It was a princess cut one carat diamond with many tiny diamonds encrusted in the band in a white gold set. It also came with a wedding band. The whole set was nearly five thousand dollars. For the area, this was a high price to pay and was probably the most expensive piece of jewelry in the store. Micky had the ring inscribed "Yours Forever, Written In My Heart" on one side and with the date that he had met Selene on the other opposite side then had it boxed up in a little black velvet box. The inscription was provided by Davy-these were some of the lyrics to a new song he had been working on and seemed to fit the occasion.

"Ok, so here's how the evening will work out." Davy said.

"I've got an Amish buggy that i'll hitch up with May and June so you've got two white horses pulling the black buggy and it will be brought around back at which point, you will exit the house not being seen and i'll help you into the buggy. You will wait for Selene. One of us will prompt her that you need her help outside or something." Davy added.

"Sounds really romantic." Micky said.

"Yes, i've bedded many ladies with this little carriage ride scheme but I figured it'd be a perfect proposal setting for you and would allow you to propose privately without really having to get down on one knee. That could be a problem for you, you know." Davy said, eyeballing Micky's wheelchair and lifeless lower body.

"Yeah, just what do you plan to do about that?" Mike interjected. "Cause back in my day, you didn't ask for a woman's hand unless you were on bended knee."

"I'll worry about that whenever the time comes." Micky said, silently wondering what he would do about that. "let me try out the carriage whenever we get back before Selene and Peter return so I can work something out."

"Ok, no problem but we'd better get back soon because we're going to be cutting it awfully close if we don't. You will have to experiment with the carriage in the stables. I'm not bringing it out until Selene is in the house where she won't see it." Davy said.

"Good, because I want this surprise to work out perfectly." Micky added.

Before arriving home, Micky had Davy stop at a local flower shop not too far from his house to pick up some roses. This time, he selected white roses to match his white suit.

Once the guys were back at Davy's house they had guessed that they would have approximately 45 minutes before they would enter into the questionable period of time at which point Selene and Peter might return early. They had expressly told Peter not to let her come home prior to 2 PM no matter what. It was now 12:45.

The three guys went to the stables quickly and helped Micky into the carriage so that he could figure out exactly how he was going to pull this off. After about 10 minutes of working with things, he got it right, what he wanted to do and then had them return him to his wheelchair.

Micky went into the house, changed clothes and put on his white suit. He had put the ring and the white roses in his room, the roses in a vase so that they'd not wilt before he intended to use them.

He made sure that his hair was slicked back perfectly like Selene liked it and then put the white matching fedora atop his head. He was actually surprised at how nice he looked whenever he looked in the mirror.

Selene and Peter ended up arriving closer to 3 PM which was great because by that time, Mike and Davy had time to whisk Micky back into the stables and get him set up in the carriage, ridding him of the wheelchair for the time being. Davy gave him a crash course in driving the carriage but this would be ok too. Micky had some experience with horses and knew how they worked. Davy and Mike quickly returned to the house and dressed up themselves at which point, Peter and Selene returned.

"Wow, you guys are all dressed up." Selene commented.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, we're all going out to a fancy restaurant for dinner tonight." Peter informed her.

"Great, I'll just have to change these clothes." Selene said as she dashed upstairs to her room.

Selene put on a one piece dress that fell just above her knees. The dress was mint green and had a bamboo design printed all over it. It was a spaghetti strap top but fell low enough to show some cleavage. It was a nice dress to wear out. She applied a bit of makeup and put on her white dress shoes. She then fixed her hair in such a way that it was tied up on top of her head with a few strands hanging around to frame out her face. This all took about 30 minutes.

"Hey Selene?" She heard Mike's Texas drawl from downstairs.

She returned to the top of the stairs to see what he wanted.

"What is it?" She said.

"It's Micky, he's outside and he needs your help with something." Mike said, lying through his teeth and actually finding that he was enjoying it.

"Ok, be right down." Selene said.

In a few minutes, Selene came down and was directed out the back door where she found the shiny black carriage waiting for her, Micky holding the reigns in one hand and the other hand across the back of the seat. There were two lanterns hanging from the front of the buggy where the cover came overtop the seats that were not yet lit. The seat was covered with a plush upholstered black leather to match the rest of the buggy.

"Your carriage awaits." Micky said in a most serious yet loving tone as he motioned her to the carriage.

Selene had no idea what was going on at the moment. First she was prompted to get ready to go to a nice place to eat and now she finds that Micky is waiting for her all dressed up in a carriage. Her handsome prince beckoned her to join him.

"Have fun." Davy said as he gave Selene a little push toward the carriage while Peter and Mike watched from the doorway.

Davy ran around to help Selene up into the carriage while Micky took her other hand pulling her up and onto the seat beside him. He hadn't lost strength in his arms at all.

"What's going on, Micky?" She asked, a bit puzzled.

"This evening belongs to us." Micky said as his brown eyes sparkled.

Selene had totally missed the bouquet of roses that lay on the seat between her and Micky. He picked them up and handed them to her.

"These are for you, sweety." He said.

"Micky, you shouldn't have!" She said as she took the flowers and laid them across her lap.

"Oh yes, I should have and I did." He said in response while at the same time, giving a little flick to the reigns to make the horses pull the buggy out of the driveway and onto the road at which point he directed the carriage onto a back road.

"So, where are you taking me and where are the other guys going to be having dinner tonight?" She questioned him half knowing that the whole thing was a ploy to surprise her with something or get her alone with Micky.

"You'll see." he said in a coy tone of voice, smiling all the while.

"You know, Micky, if you wanted to be alone with me, all you have to do is ask.

A while later after riding the carriage around some back roads and checking out some scenery, Micky guided the buggy down another little road, across a covered bridge and onto a road that looked as though it hadn't been maintained. This road lead up to a beautiful clearing overlooking a pond. The clouds were reflected on the water like a mirror. The sun was beginning to sink low on the horizon and the sky was beginning to take on fiery red and orange hues that faded into violet.

"This is beautiful." Selene said to Micky as he pulled a book of matches out of his pocket and lit the lanterns hanging from the front of the buggy.

The golden light from the flame cast a glow across the buggy as the sun sank lower and the sky became more vivid. The night critters and lightning bugs began to come out and make their sounds. It was otherwise a quiet evening in the country in the middle of nowhere.

"This is God's country." Micky said as he smiled at Selene. "This has always been a beautiful place and I suppose that's why Davy decided to move here." He went on to say.

"It certainly is beautiful" Selene agreed.

Just at that moment, she felt Micky's hand on hers. She looked down at their hands. He had taken her hand in both of his. As her eyes traveled up to meet his, she noticed a very sincere look come across his face.

"Selene, darling-you're a very special person to me and I just don't think I would have been able to pull through the accident if you hadn't been a part of my life...and I want you to know how much you've meant to me these past few months that we've known each other." Micky paused, his gaze still locked on her. "I know I've tried your patience and taken up a lot of your time and caused you to go out of your way to make sure I'm ok but you've done that all out of sincerity and out of genuine concern and love and because you're a good hearted woman that any man would be hard pressed to have for himself."

"You've been there for me and pushed me to do better and to not feel sorry for myself...You're the reason I want to get out of bed every day." Micky said as he continued to look at her. Selene was smiling back at him with a look of love.

"You're scored on my heart." He said as he began to fumble around on his side of the buggy.

"Are you ok?" Selene asked, not wanting to interrupt but she couldn't help but notice that he seemed uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I just wanted to bring you out on a proper date and have everything perfect for you on this special evening" He assured her.

Selene sat silently not really knowing where this conversation was going to end up but she was enjoying the attention and the evening. After all, this was the first time that Micky had found it possible to actually take her out somewhere and it was all thanks to his wonderful friends-his Monkee brothers. He looked so handsome in his new white suit and fedora. In fact, she didn't recall a time when she had ever seen such a good looking gentleman. She felt like Cinderella at the ball.

Micky had managed to work something out of his pocket next to the side of the buggy but Selene was unable to see what it was. She wasn't really paying attention to that. She was more interested in Micky's enjoyment of the evening and his attention to her on their date that he had taken her on.

"Just look at that pond and the reflections of what's left of the sunset...and the fire flies" Micky said pointing out across the way. "Aren't they beautiful?

"We always called them lightning bugs where I come from" Selene informed Micky with a giggle. He loved that little giggle and how she seemed to be a sweet southern belle at times.

While Selene was looking out over the pond, Micky fiddled with the ring box pushing it back into the corner of the seat behind him so that Selene wouldn't see it prematurely before he had time to set the mood and actually pop the question.

He scooted himself over a little closer to her, put his arm around her and leaned in to kiss her cheek as they watched the moon come up. It was now fully dark except for the twinkling lightning bugs and the lanterns. Micky knew that the lanterns wouldn't burn for too long before they ran out of kerosene but they'd burn long enough.

"You said you liked my voice so I brought my guitar tonight. I hope you don't mind if I serenade you a bit." He said sheepishly as she turned toward him. She kissed him just beside the mouth ever so gently -he liked this about her-

"I would love that more than anything" She said to him.

Micky strummed the guitar and sang a few songs that he thought would be to her liking. He hadn't performed any in a few years and although his voice had gotten a little rough, he was surprised that he still had his range on a few of those songs.

"You have a wonderful voice, Micky" Selene told him. He blushed and glanced off to the opposite side.

"No, really, I mean that. You've got a great voice." She reiterated as she leaned in toward him. She placed one hand on his chest and the other around the back of his neck tugging him closer as their lips made contact. Micky sat the guitar aside and reciprocated this embrace by taking her around the waist with the other hand on the back of her head as the two locked lips by the light of the two lanterns on the front of the buggy in what was a very passionate kiss.

It was time-Micky pulled back a little bit so that he could talk.

"Selene-There's something I've been wanting to talk about" He said rather matter of factly not giving her time to say anything, he slid off the seat and into the floor of the carriage letting himself down with his arms gently into his bended knee position at which point he managed to hold himself there with one hand and present the ring to her with the other.

"Will you be my wife, Selene?" he asked as he looked up into her eyes.

Tears began to fall from Selene's eyes as she realized what had just happened. "Yes, Micky, Yes! I will marry you!" She said through tears "and I will love you each and every day of your life!" She added as she took the ring box to look at the ring. She helped Micky back up into a sitting position at which point she allowed him to place the engagement ring on her finger. It twinkled in the light of the moon.

Micky read the inscription aloud to her. She fell into his arms as he embraced her beneath the velvet sky and thought to himself "Well, you done it Dolenz, you got the girl..."


	14. Chapter 14

The Man Next Door

(Part 14)

Once inside the house, congratulations continued and it was a happy little affair. The group went out to a local pub to celebrate the happy occasion. Davy had explained earlier that it was a place where no one would recognize them or bother them.

That night, Selene once again returned to Micky's room to find him sitting on the edge of the bed having just put on his sleep pants and getting ready to put on a t-shirt.

"I made you some more tea." Selene said as she brought him the cup. "It's been helping you to sleep so well that I thought i'd keep it coming." She added.

Micky accepted the tea from her, drank some and then began to talk once again about their engagement.

"You know, you've made me the happiest man in the world this afternoon. I don't think anything could make me any happier." He said to her as he sipped the tea.

"You were worrying about things earlier, whether or not I'd be happy with you...well, I've thought about that." She said to him.

Micky slowly sat the cup of tea back on the night stand table, his heart thrashed in his chest at what he thought she might be about to say.

"I've had time to think about it and I think that if I was simply infatuated with you that I wouldn't enjoy going to such length to take care of you or keep you happy and still mange to enjoy every waking minute of it just because you're there." She explained.

Micky let out a sigh of relief.

"Did you...did you think that I had changed my mind?" Selene said to him, maybe somewhat hurt by his first thoughts.

"Well, It's just that it's all still so amazing to me that you love me this much. It's something that you never really get over...when...when you're my age and in my condition." He explained, looking a little odd because he realized that he was doing it again. He was feeling sorry for himself and he knew that Selene hated that but at the same time he was overflowing with happiness and that also showed.

"Micky, it's alright." She said, reaching out laying her hand on the side of his face. "I'm not going to leave you-ever." She assured him as he placed his hand on hers then eventually brought it around to his lips for a kiss.

"You looked absolutely dashing tonight!" Selene said to Micky as she leaned closer to him so that he could wrap his arms around his new bride to be.

"You looked ravishing yourself, dear." He said as he cuddled her and fingered the spaghetti strap of the dress that she was still wearing when he noticed that it had slipped from her shoulder.

"Can I tell you something else?" Selene asked as she pulled away from him to look into his eyes. His eyes were beautiful under the dim light of the lamp beside the bed.

He said nothing but his looks implored her to continue.

"I just wanted to tell you that you're going to be my first..." She said.

"I know, sweety." He said. And he really did know in his heart that she was still a virgin despite the assumptions of his friends based on how beautiful she was. He could tell that this particular innocence existed with her. He somewhat regretted that he was-or used to be well experienced in this area but then saw somewhat of a blessing with regard to the injuries he had sustained. He too, would be learning a whole new way of doing things and this would be a first for him.

"It's getting late, sweety." Micky said as he picked up the teacup and downed the remainder of what was left. "You should go get some sleep so you'll be well rested for tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Selene asked only half remembering that the other guys had indeed planned something but she was too happy and in another world to recall what that was.

"We've all decided to have a jam session tomorrow. Davy bought an old church building a few years back and he's renovated it, turned it into somewhat of a rehearsal hall and even has some recording equipment in there." Micky explained.

"Wow. Sounds like fun for you guys." Selene said not intentionally dis-including herself but just thinking that they were going to get together like old times and just enjoy jamming.

"You're coming too. I need somebody to sing with me." Micky said, smiling at her.

"I can come too?" She said half surprised.

"I wouldn't even consider it without you." He added.

"Selene, my friends have always welcomed each other's wives and girlfriends into their little circle as though they were part of the family. I wouldn't consider this any different. Just expect it and stop thinking that we're some sort of exclusive old men's club where you're not exactly welcome because you are welcome. You're more than welcome."He said.

Selene left Micky's room, taking the empty teacup with her and then retired to bed.

The next morning the 5 people headed down to the other side of town where Davy's church building stood.

"Wow Davy, this place is really beautiful!" Selene said as she walked towards the building.

"You shoulda seen this mess before we renovated it. It was about to be demolished and had been condemned." Davy explained. He continued "I just couldn't bear to let them tear it down so I bought it really cheap and then decided to renovate it and use it for my own jam hall and personal recording studio."

They entered the building. It still had some of that old church smell to it as well as some of the old remaining furniture in the downstairs.

"Mostly everything's upstairs since we had to work on that first and patch the roof. The downstairs isn't finished yet." Davy explained.

Micky, Peter and Mike gathered around Micky's chair and carried it and him up the narrow stairs that went to the second floor of the building without being asked or prompted to do so.

Once upstairs, they found an array of musical instruments, amplifiers and some recording equipment. There was a small stage where the instruments were set up. Everything seemed to be wired directly into the recording equipment.

 _"I hope this works out well. This is the rest of her life we're messing with here."_ Micky thought to himself. He was excited and still happy but slightly worried with what he was about to do.

"Selene, You're going to sing with me over there." He said pointing to a microphone that was squarely in the center of the stage. Davy is going to play drums, Mike and Peter will play guitar and bass. I might play the piano a little bit later. " He said.

It wasn't long before the group was assembled on the stage and ready to begin. They began by singing some Monkees tunes. It was clear that Mike wasn't too enthusiastic about singing their old Monkees songs because they held some really bad memories for him.

"I heard that Selene does a really mean cover of Patsy Cline. Why don't we do one of those songs?" Peter suggested.

Mike's attention was immediately piqued with this and he was in agreement with the switch in musical genre.

"What song do you want to sing?" Mike asked Selene.

"Well, I can do pretty well with I Fall To Pieces or Crazy." She told him.

"Perfect!" Mike said as he tuned his instrument. "Wanna step things up a little bit?" He asked.

"Sure." Selene said.

"Well, I recorded this song back in the 70s with the First National Band only we made it a little faster than the original and it turned out pretty well. Wanna try it that way?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, we can try it." Selene said.

At this point, Selene had been sitting on Micky's lap singing with him. He whispered in her ear "Go over there to the other microphone since you're going to do this one solo." He said. She obliged.

Micky reached over and pressed a button causing a little red light to switch on over on the recording panel. He was recording that session. Mike and Davy winked at him and quickly, before Selene noticed anything was up, resumed normal appearances.

The music began with Mike playing his guitar. The rest of the guys followed suit. They were somewhat familiar with how this tune went since they had all been sent original copies of the album whenever it was released some 40 years earlier. Selene began go sing the song. She was a little worried about how she sounded belting out this song that she was so used to singing slow, in a faster more upbeat way but she actually liked it. She wondered why she hadn't thought of this before.

The Monkees were all astonished at how closely her voice resembled that of Patsy Cline while she was singing the song-except for Micky. He already knew about her voice. He was still amazed at how well she adjusted to this version of the song. Once the song was finished, Davy, Peter and Mike all complimented her on her solo performance. Micky once again reached over and hit the button again on the recording panel switching the light off. They stayed there for a few more hours just enjoying each others company then had lunch and returned to Davy's house to say their goodbyes. They would all be returning to their homes in the morning to resume life as usual.

After everyone had went to bed, Micky was still lying awake. " _Where was Davy with that recording?!_ " He wondered impatiently. Davy had slipped out of the house and across town after they were sure that everyone else had went to bed to edit the recording and chop out all of the chatter before and after the song so that it would be fit for replay with a record company.

Micky couldn't sleep. He had already talked with Selene and had his nightly tea earlier. She was fast asleep so he wasn't worried that she would return. He just wanted Davy to hurry up and get that recording to him before they left in the morning so that he could put it in his suitcase and discuss it with Selene later. The tension that was building inside him over this whole record deal scheme seemed to cause mild discomfort. Since he had already had the tea earlier, it wasn't as bad. He still did not know that she had been drugging the tea for him. He just knew that the tea made him feel a lot more relaxed and killed the pain.

Finally at 20 minutes past midnight, he heard someone coming in from the back kitchen door. That had to be Davy. In a few moments, Davy slinked into Micky's room with a tape in his hand and closed the door behind him. Micky switched on the lamp to filter some more light into the room.

"Thanks man!" Micky said as he pointed over to his suitcase. "Stick it in that inside pocket out of sight." Micky instructed.

Davy done as he was told then returned to Micky's bedside.

"I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed hanging out over the past few days. I hope that you guys can visit again sometime. I've been upset for years over that incident with Mike that happened on our last tour and I just couldn't let go of it. Thanks to you, things are ok between Mike and I now." Davy explained. "We made amends" he continued.

"I also wish you and Selene the best. I'll be at your wedding with bells on!" Davy insisted. "And i'll sing any sappy old love song that you want to hear!"

"That's great, man. I'd love that." Micky said also seeming not to be so uptight about things any longer.

"I've had a wonderful time as well this past week. It's been the best week of my life actually." He explained.

"Hey Mick..." Davy said then paused. A more serious tone now.

"Yeah, man?" Micky said.

"Selene told me you had a doctor's appointment coming up next week...were you going to keep that appointment?" Davy asked.

"Yeah, I think so. The truth is that i've been having some pain and I'm kinda worried about what could be causing it." Micky explained.

"Ok, well I just wanted to tell you that I thought it would be best if you kept it...and do call and let me know how it went." Davy said as he left the room.

So far all of his fellow friends had told him to keep the appointment and had asked him to call them once he found out how he was doing.

Micky was afraid of what the doctor might say and also afraid that this pain may be something that he would experience on a daily basis or would be something that would be recurring and for him, that would be difficult to live with. So far, he had been managing his pain rather well and discreetly but he knew that he would cave in to it once he was told about it and had no reason to hide it from anyone and he was afraid that it would further disable him not to mention his fear of addiction to pain killers. This stemmed from seeing Peter's downward spiral with drug and alcohol abuse and a past addiction to pain killers that he had experienced for a brief time in his life.

The next morning everyone was back on the plane to California. Mike had taken a separate flight that would take him back to Monterrey. Micky and Selene were on a flight together while Peter was on yet a different flight. He had decided to visit family in Connecticut for a while instead of returning to California.

Once again, Selene felt apprehensive about the flight. This time, Micky had made sure to sit by the window even though it involved more difficulty for him to get to a seat so she wouldn't have to sit by the window and he had subsequently had their return airline tickets bumped up to first class for more comfort.

"Selene, i've got another little engagement surprise for you." Micky said, smiling.

Selene looked at him eager for him to disclose this surprise to her but he just smiled.

"What, Micky! Tell me!" She said, a little more excited.

"Well, I...I figured you'd like it so I gave you a car." Micky said.

"Wow!" Selene said in shock that he would spend that much money on her before they were even married but then she realized that he had probably spent a small fortune on the engagement ring that he had purchased for her.

"Wow what?" Micky said to her.

"You said you gave me a car. That's a lot of expenditure but i'm happy about it and I still get to keep my Beretta!" She said.

There was a silence before Selene asked Micky the next question about the car. She didn't know exactly how to phrase it without putting him on the defensive so she just asked him as nicely as she knew how without beating around the bush.

"Micky, when it comes to the women that have been in your life before me, did you buy them cars and things like that?" She stopped. Micky smiled at her and responded. "No, love, I didn't." and continued "I've had money for a long time now and if I had of wanted to shower them with gifts and such, I could have done that easily but the truth is that I never really felt good about letting someone come into my life and get too close to me for that reason. I just thought that there were too many bad people in the world and that a lot of them would just take advantage of the fact that I had money to spare. I didn't want to get hurt and that ideal was brought to mind even more during and after the divorce."

"Your divorce was a nasty one, wasn't it?" Selene said. Micky hesitated for a bit.

"You know, if you want to talk about it, it's ok with me. Talking about your first marriage isn't off limits." Selene said.

"Well, in the beginning of things, I fell head over heels in love with a woman while we were touring in the UK and married her before that leg of the tour was over. Our marriage was very stressful and bumpy shortly afterward. It turned out that she was mostly after my money and also had intentions of having children with a celebrity just so that she could use those children as a financial pawn later in life. Thank God we didn't have any children out of that marriage. That would have been horrible and I would have felt guilty over it for a long time. As time went on, she fell out of love with me." Micky paused and stared out the window for a brief moment.

"And you still loved her?" Selene added, knowing how this was going to end.

"madly." Micky answered. "But when she began to see other men and lose interest in me it was very nearly too much to bear for a long time yet I stayed with her...to start with, because I felt guilty putting her out on the street in a divorce because she had nowhere to go. She was living off my income-and spending it faster than I could make it. Then there was the..." Micky stopped again.

Selene put her hand on Micky's "Go on, it's ok. I can handle it. Besides, you seem like you are letting go of a lot of things here and that's good for you."

"You're right, Selene. I am letting go of a lot of stuff here and it feels wonderful to do that but at the same time, it's a painful reminder of the feelings that I had back then. I've just never really discussed it in detail with anyone before." Micky continued.

"And I have to tell you something...something that you should know." Micky said.

"What's that?" Selene ask.

"I had an addiction problem while I was with my ex." He blurted out for lack of a better way of stating the problem.

"While I was with her, it was just too much to bear. I got addicted to all kinds of prescription medications. Nerve pills, pain killers, anti-depressants. You name it." He explained.

"It was just not a good time in my life at all. Finally one day, I came home from being on tour for a six week tour of Europe and found her in bed with what used to be one of my closest friends. That was too much. Something inside me just made me not want to care anymore about the whole situation. I had to get out of it. My heart couldn't take the pain anymore. I knew then that I was never really in love with her and I no longer felt guilty about leaving her. It was done. The divorce proceedings were carried out, the marital properties were sold except for the house. She kept the house, I got the Mercedes and then moved out. I lived in an apartment for a while until I got back on my feet and could bring myself to start a new life and that brings me up to where you met me."

Selene listened with astonishment and interest as Micky told the story of his previous marriage and now fully understood why, at times it seemed that he wasn't letting go of something or wasn't making a move on her and at times seemed to behave oddly.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Micky." Selene said as she felt his hand squeeze a little bit more on hers.

"You know, I was kind of on the rebound so to speak whenever I moved in beside you but I had actually decided to perhaps try dating again because I really did like having someone to share life with. Then I was in that accident that nearly killed me that left me...like this. I just thought that it was all over for me. I didn't think in a million years that I'd have another shot at a woman unless she was some kind of a gold digger." He continued.

"Micky, I'll take you any way you come. Whenever I said I'd marry you, I meant that I'd marry all of you and take everything that would come along with it. I love you." Selene reassured.

"I know. I can feel it." Micky said.

"So, about that car you gave me-what kind is it?" Selene asked to lighten the tone of the discussion that had just taken place.

"You're gonna love it!" Micky said, intentionally not telling her about it but then decided to stop playing like that and tell her.

"It's the Mercedes." He said, smiling at her.

"What? You mean your Mercedes?" She questioned.

"Yeah...not mine, yours. I had it titled in your name since I probably won't be driving it as often. Somebody has to drive it and keep it running. I figured you could so that. Sometimes I worry about you driving around late at night in that Beretta...especially since that old boyfriend of yours turned up. I saw how frightened you were of him that night. I know he was a bad deal all the way around. What if the car had of had a problem or something?" He said.

"I wouldn't have worried about it too much. You were with me." Selene told him as though she would trust him with her life.

"And what do you think I could have done about it?" Micky said in a slightly concerned but argumentative tone.

"You wouldn't have let anything bad happen to me. I know that." Selene said.

"Selene, I'm afraid that you have too much confidence in me as far as my abilities go when it comes to physical protection. I couldn't have moved out of that car seat if he had of spotted you and decided to do something." Micky said, just being logical and stating the reality of the situation.

"But he didn't know that you weren't able to get out of the car." Selene argued back. "Just the fact that I was there with someone else would have deterred anything from happening."

Just then the plane shook tremendously and the seat belt light flashed on near the front of the plane.

"Oh my god! What was that?!" Selene said as she looked around to see if she could see any immediate danger pending.

"It's ok!" Micky assured her as he reached over to grab her arm firmly in order to reassure her and calm her a bit. Selene seemed to be flipping out a little bit.

"Ok, I'm alright." Selene said to Micky after his reassuring touch. She was still looking around quite frantically even though most of the bumping had stopped at this point. It didn't last very long.

"That was pretty scary." She said to Micky as he continued to hold onto her arm then moved to her hand.

A short while later, the plane began its descent at the airport in California.

Once off the plane, Micky allowed Selene to push him through the airport and back out into the parking garage where she had left her Beretta parked for the week. Once they entered the level where the car had been parked and approached the car, Selene noticed something dreadfully wrong. The back window had been busted out of the Beretta.

"Oh no!" Selene said as she moved quicker and approached her damaged vehicle.

Micky lunged for her, nearly falling out of the chair but grabbing her by the wrist. "No, don't go over there." He pleaded.

"Why not?" She said, obviously mad that someone had done this to her car.

"Because somebody might still be around here." Micky added then suggested that the police be called.

"Selene quickly realized that this was the best option so she returned to Airport Security and initiated the process of filling out a report, they lifted some fingerprints off the car and secured the area at which point, she was told that she could take her car and leave.

The investigating officer took her information and told her that he would be getting back with her as soon as they had any new information.

Shattered glass covered the back seat but for the most part was brushed away. The remainder would have to be sucked up with the shop vac. Strangely enough, there were no other damages to the vehicle.

By this point, Micky had developed quite a knack for putting himself into vehicles without any assistance other than having someone fold the chair and put it in the trunk. Once he and Selene were in the car he noticed something odd about Selene. She sat down in the vehicle and started the car at which point, she turned white as a sheet.

"What is it?" Micky asked.


	15. Chapter 15

The Man Next Door

(Part 15)

Micky tried without avail to figure out what had caused Selene to turn ghost white and seem so freaked out but he just couldn't figure out anything.

She sat in the driver's seat of the car and looked at the dash. Right behind where the ignition switch was, stuck to the dash was a post it note that read:

" _I know who you're dating and I still want you. Break it off or I'll break him-permanently!_ "

Micky hadn't seen the note as of yet. Selene had plucked it off the dash and read it to herself. Micky finally snatched it from her hand to look at it himself. The handwriting alone sent chills down Micky's spine. Not because he was afraid of what would be done to him or what this meant but because he saw how frightened Selene had been whenever she saw the old boyfriend at the 7 Eleven.

"Let's go home." Selene said to Micky and without waiting for an answer, started the car and drove it out of the parking garage.

Micky could tell that she was immensely bothered by it all and didn't dare say anything at this point that may interfere with her driving. He could see that it was all she could do to keep from having some sort of breakdown. He decided that he would wait at least until they were home before he tried to sort out exactly what was going on. Before too long, Selene pulled her car into Micky's driveway behind the Mercedes, got out of the car and brought Micky's chair around to his side of the car holding the door for him in the process.

Once Micky was in the chair again, he moved to the rear of the car to get his suitcase.

"I'll take that." He said to Selene as she attempted to carry it toward the house. "Just set it on my lap." She sat the suitcase on his lap and then closed the trunk of the car, following Micky into his house.

Micky wanted Selene to stay at his place just so he'd feel safer knowing that he could keep her close to him but he was afraid of what she'd think if he were to ask her to stay there and spend the night. He knew how she felt about what other people thought but this wasn't a small town and everybody didn't know everybody else.

Little did Micky know that Selene was tossing around the idea herself. She didn't want to be alone at her house even though Micky was just right next door. She didn't feel safe and for some reason, was afraid to even go back inside her house. Something just felt wrong about going inside her house-especially alone. She almost suspected that Trevor had already been there and left some sort of a nasty little surprise for her or perhaps was waiting for her return or would show up shortly afterward.

Once Micky and Selene were inside the house Micky finally had a chance to question her about the happenings but before he was able to get an opportunity to do so, Selene voluntarily began to speak about it with him.

"Micky." Selene said as she approached him. He had went into the living room and moved from his wheelchair to the couch so that he could sit a little more comfortably. He was once again experiencing some mild pain.

"In here, honey." He replied as he heard her walking toward the living room.

Selene sat down on the couch beside him at which point she sensed that he wasn't totally comfortable.

"Micky, I know you aren't comfortable like that." She said to him. "Why don't you put your feet up here and stretch out a little bit?" She continued.

"That sounds nice." He said as he moved to pick up one of his legs and place it on the couch. Selene picked it up and laid it across her lap along with the other one and then handed him the pillow off the other end of the couch to put behind his back so that he could face her and relax at the same time.

"Now, you look more comfortable." She said and proceeded to detail him on what was going on.

"I know you're wondering about that note from earlier that we found in my car." She said.

"Yeah, that was a little alarming to say the least. I was hoping that you'd tell me all about it." Micky said as Selene pulled off his shoes and sat them on the floor.

"Well, for starters, the guy's name is Trevor. I'd recognize his handwriting anywhere. I dated him for a short time about 5 years ago and then broke it off whenever he started getting weird with me. He apparently didn't like it whenever I broke it off and still felt that he had claim on me. We ended up having to file a restraining order against him that he broke several times. He just wouldn't leave me alone. No matter what happened, where I went, he would turn up there. It was like he was watching my every move. There were e-mails from him, notes left in places where I would find them like in the car for instances. There was one time that he actually managed to enter the house and leave a note on my bedroom dresser. That was when we filed the restraining order because he had actually broken into our house without us knowing it. We don't know when he left the note but we know he was in there." Selene explained and at the same time, inadvertently began mushing Micky's foot around in her hand as though it was some sort of stress ball.

"Well, so far it sounds like he was a little whacked but mostly harmless. Go on." He said.

"Oh, no! Not mostly harmless. Things were just getting started with Trevor. You see, Trevor was a spoiled little brat as a child only I didn't know this until much later. As it turns out, he had lots of money and was basically given anything and everything he wanted. It was later determined in a psychiatric evaluation that he had decided that he would have me no matter what and for that reason, he was placed in a mental hospital. Obviously he's out now. Anyway, for the next three years creepy stuff like that went on until one night I was performing at the Deep Dish and had a late night. I ended up walking out to the parking lot alone where I found him waiting for me at the car. I tried to play it cool and just talk with him until I had a chance to get into the car and lock myself in but he was too quick for that." Selene stopped and looked around then her glance fell to her lap and Micky's foot in her hand.

"Micky, he tried to rape me that night and he almost did." Selene said, nearly breaking down at the remembrance of it all. "In the struggle, he managed to cut me several times with a knife in an attempt to injure me so that he could have his way with me."

Without saying anything more, Selene began to sob uncontrollably. Somehow, Micky managed to move toward her and collect her in his arms pulling her back toward his chest.

"Selene, it's ok. You're safe now. I'm not going to let him hurt you or even come into this house!" Micky reassured her but a split second later he remembered the reality of the situation. He wouldn't be able to move quickly enough should something arise from this little problem.

"Calm down." Micky said softly into her ear as he rubbed her hair and pressed her closer into his chest. Gradually he felt her loosen her death grip on his body and regain control of herself.

"Micky, I am so sorry about that. I didn't mean to..." She started.

"No, it's alright. You needed to let that out." he said to her.

"Micky, not even my mother knew about that. It feels so good to finally tell someone about it. You have no idea." She said through the remainder of her tears.

"I know it feels good. You helped me out a lot by listening to my life with my ex wife on the flight back. I think we helped each other." He said.

Micky decided that this conversation had been too emotionally charged to continue right now. There were more important things at stake for the present time. Selene had resumed her position at the opposite end of the couch and propped Micky's feet up on her lap once again.

"Listen to me, Selene." Micky said to her with a great deal of seriousness in his voice. "Upstairs in the room that used to be my bedroom, there's a night stand beside the bed. I keep a gun in that night stand. I want you to go bring it to me." Micky told her.

"A gun?" She repeated in a whisper. "Like a real gun?"

"Don't let it make you feel uneasy. I used to own several handguns before my divorce. In fact, I used to be a frequent at the shooting range. It was sort of a hobby of mine for a while. I sold the guns only keeping one of them, mainly just because it was special to me." He explained.

Selene slid out from underneath Micky's feet leaving them still perched on the couch where she had been sitting as she walked out of the living room and went upstairs to his previous bedroom. She found the nightstand and the gun just as he had said they would be. She returned shortly with the requested gun in hand and passed it to Micky.

"Thanks." He said as he began to somewhat disassemble the gun and check it out. "I know I wouldn't be able to move fast enough to protect you if something were to happen at this house but I can keep a loaded gun nearby or with me at all times. I used to be a champion marksman." Micky told her.

"I had no idea." Selene said taking some pride in the fact that her man was a champion marksman.

"I just don't want to take any chances with this guy after what he done to you and this is the only way that I could even begin to offer you protection from someone." He said and continued "I'm just not able to offer protection any other way." He said with some evident regret.

"There's a box of bullets upstairs for the gun stashed in the closet. Could you go up there and bring me some of them so that I can load this thing up and have it ready?" He asked.

No sooner had he made the request than it was done.

"Wanna see me do something kind of neat?" He asked as he held the gun and had the bullets laying there.

"Sure." Selene said. She needed some amusement.

"Watch this!" Micky said as he picked up some bullets and within seconds had the gun loaded.

"Wow, that was really fast!" Selene said. "I'll bet you're a quick draw too." She added.

Micky nodded and smiled. "That was one of the things I wanted to become really great at, quick drawing and shooting."

"You make me feel safe, love." Selene said to him as she looked straight into his eyes. He knew that she meant that and it deeply satisfied him to know that.

A little while later, Selene prepared a light dinner for the two of them that consisted of broccoli, pasta and garlic bread. It was very basic but tasty.

"Would you like to sit in the recliner?" Selene asked Micky upon returning to the living room and finding him in a different position on the couch.

"Maybe. That would probably be more comfortable for me. I just can't get out of it on my own." He said.

"It's ok, I can get you out of it and I don't mind hanging around at all." She said as she returned to the kitchen to bring the food to the living room.

The two of them had dinner in front of the TV and watched some reruns of "Roseanne" that ended up tickling their funny bone.

After the credits rolled, Selene took the dirty dishes back to the kitchen and brought back drink refills for both of them. Micky noticed that Selene had a look on her face as though she had something to say but wasn't saying it.

"Honey? Did you wanna talk about something?" Micky said as he muted the television.

"Ummm...well, yeah. Actually I did want to talk with you about something." She said.

"I think i've done something that I really need to tell you about." Selene said in an apologetic tone.

"I've already been dishonest with you, Micky...and that kills me." She said putting her head in her hands.

Micky was unable to get out of the recliner that he had chosen to sit in but more than ever he wanted to be beside her and let her know that whatever it was that she had done was ok.

"Micky, I've been secretly..."She stopped for a split second then continued. "Ive been drugging you." She said as she began to cry.

It killed Micky that he was stuck in the recliner and couldn't comfort her but then he realized what she had just said and why she was so upset. She had been doing something with good intentions that had apparently been helping his pain but then after he told her about his addictions, she regretted it and thought she may have caused some sort of problem.

"Selene, baby!" Micky coaxed from his recliner. "Calm down a minute." He said as he tried to talk to her. It was absolutely killing him to see her this upset over him.

"I-I've probably caused you more problems than I helped." She said as she sobbed on the couch, her head still in her hands.

"No, sweety, no you haven't." Micky told her.

"But I laced your tea with pain killers...Ibuprofens!" She cried.

"Selene, I was never addicted to those. My problems came from narcotics." He said.

"What you done was absolutely harmless." He added.

After much convincing from Micky that she hadn't harmed him or caused a set back and that he wasn't upset with her in the least she finally ceased being so upset and composed herself a little bit.

"Now come over here and help me out of this damn chair onto the couch." Micky demanded, wanting to be closer to her and regretting ever asking to be put in the recliner.

Selene went over just as she had done previously and wrapped her arms around him in a hug as he did the same to her and levied her weight against him to slide him forward so that he could maneuver into the wheelchair and then transfer onto the couch across the room again.

Once on the couch, Selene moved the wheelchair away and out of sight. She had done that mostly by default because she knew that Micky didn't like having it around to look at.

Micky patted the couch whenever she returned in a request for her to come sit beside him.

She was still upset about everything that she had done and what had happened but she didn't care to detail him anymore about how she laced his tea with Ibuprofens in a dose that was close to what you'd get in prescription strength.

Micky wrapped his arm around Selene's shoulders and pulled her slightly closer to him as he talked to her about it. "Please don't be this upset about things. It isn't like you caused a problem. If anything, you helped me. It helped my pain and I hope that I can get you to mix up that concoction for me again sometime if I need it. Those painkillers aren't like the ones I got addicted to a while back. In fact, I don't think they're habit forming at all so we're good." He told her as he held his comforting arm around her.

Selene just sat and listened for a moment then asked him about his pain.

"Micky, how bad is it?" She asked.

"How bad is what?" He replied, slightly confused.

"The pain." She said

Micky knew that she already suspected that it was worse than he was letting on but she had been brutally honest with him-they had been brutally honest with each other lately on many levels. He didn't see any further reason to hide it from her so he decided to tell her about that too.

"Selene, yes...Yes i've been trying to hide it and keep it from you but the pain at some points has been nearly unbearable. I don't know what's causing it and I'm scared. It comes and goes. The tea...I mean the Ibuprofen helped it but it keeps coming back-like now. I know it's going to be worse than ever tonight." He explained.

"I won't let it worry me for now if you will do one thing for me." Selene said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Keep your appointment with the doctor that's coming up next week." She pleaded.

Micky paused for a moment and then answered. "I was going to keep it. Like I said, I am a little worried about the pain.

"Wanna watch some more television?" He asked after another moment of silence.

Selene thought that was a good idea so they watched a few episodes of Leave It To Beaver. By the time the last episode finished, Selene noticed that Micky seemed to be acting slightly uncomfortable. She knew what the problem was. He was having pain again and trying to hide the severity of it.

She laid a hand on his thigh and lightly rubbed it. "Micky, you don't have to hide it anymore." She said to him.

"I wasn't." He said. "But I am going to ask you a favor.

"Anything." Selene said.

"Could you mix me up some more of that special dope tea that you're so famous for?" He said through a light chuckle.

"Yeah." She said and smiled.

"One more thing." Micky added as Selene got up off the couch to fix the tea.

"hmmm?"

"I want you to stay over here tonight instead of going back to your house. You can sleep in the guest room upstairs. There's another bed up there." Micky said.

Selene nodded in agreement and went off to make tea.

In the meantime, Micky transferred back to the wheelchair and went outside to Selene's car. He had her keys because he had picked them up off the island in the kitchen by the door. As he went outside, the cool night air cut through him and slightly surprised him. It made him realize that it was going to be much cooler there soon. He hadn't really wanted the warm weather to end. He had a lot of outdoors activities planned before the accident that never were allowed to take place. He would have to do something before the cold weather was there to stay.

He got Selene's suitcase out of the trunk of her Beretta and brought it back into his house.

"What were you doing?" Selene asked him whenever she discovered that he had been outside.

"I thought you were still in the living room but then you disappeared." She added.

"Just went outside to bring your things in so you'd have your stuff." He said.

Selene thanked him and then put two cups of tea on the table. "That one's yours." She said pointing to the other cup. "I crunched up some pills for you in it." she said sitting down to have her own cup of chamomile tea.

Micky announced that he was going to go have a shower and put on something more comfortable. Selene agreed to do the same and the two of them retired for the night at that point.

Micky lay awake for a short while thinking about what sort of activities he would like to do-or would be able to do before it was too cold for the outdoors to be enjoyable. _"A trip to the beach would be kind of nice...we could just sit on the beach, build sand castles and things like that."_ he thought to himself. He had a brief daydream where he envisioned himself and Selene sitting on a beach blanket underneath a big umbrella. He was putting sunscreen all over her. She was wearing a really hot bikini in his daydream. She took a turn putting sunscreen on him as well and ended up giving his butt a squeeze while he was laying on his stomach. In his daydream, he could feel this. In reality he knew that he wouldn't be able to feel anything. The daydream continued with him eventually serenading her with his guitar for a short while and then strangely enough ended with Micky lulling himself to sleep in this daydream. His dream continued with him eventually walking down to the beach with Selene allowing the water to rush in at them and splash them. At one point, he scooped Selene up in his arms and carried her down the beach kissing her intermittently along the way then sat her back down. The last part of the dream that he remembered was making love to her after dark in the moonlight on a large rock. The beach was deserted and it was just them. In the dream, Micky was not in any way disabled. Selene was enjoying it, he was enjoying it and it kept going until eventually he was awakened by what seemed to be a flash back of the accident. His dream shifted from a sexual fantasy with Selene to the moment that his car began flipping and the point at which he was thrown from the vehicle, hit his head and blacked out.

Micky's eyes shot wide open with that at which point, he immediately realized that he was in excruciating pain that included just about every part of his body. He looked at the digital clock across the room. It was 4:15 AM.

 _"Oh God, please let it stop!"_ Micky said in a voice not above a whisper as he lay in bed staring up at the ceiling trying to find the happy place that he was in only moments ago in his dream. He continued to lay there. 5 minutes turned into 30 minutes that turned into an hour. Micky had been in so much pain that the only thing he could do was let the tears loose and even that wouldn't make it subside. He could have yelled through the house and woke Selene but he didn't want to do that. She'd probably be awake soon anyway. He really didn't want her to see him like this in this much pain but it was really getting out of control this time. So badly that he couldn't move any part of his body without hurting. He did manage to halt the tears that had escaped his eyes already and stop crying but he realized that the pillow underneath him was soaked with his tears.

Selene woke up at 5:55 AM before the alarm went off. She switched off the clock and began to get ready for the day.

Micky heard movement upstairs and knew that she was awake. He was still having severe bouts of pain but so long as he didn't move, the pain was bearable at this point.

Selene came downstairs after a bit and quietly peeked around Micky's partially closed door to see whether he was awake or not.

 _"Selene..."_ She heard almost immediately in that whispered tone. She knew something was dreadfully wrong and rushed to Micky's side switching on the lamp on his night stand.

"You're in pain again, aren't you?" She asked.

Without him saying anything, she knew the answer to that question.

"Selene, I'm hurting all over, I can't move because of the pain." He said.

"Please do something..."He begged.

"Bring me some more pills or something..." He said to her as his eyes squenched tightly shut as another pain shot through his arms, this time rendering a cry out loud from him.

"Ok, ok, i'll get something for you. Just hang on." Selene said as she quickly left the room, found the bottle of Ibuprofen and put some water in a cup. She returned to the room quickly with what she had.

By the time she had approached Micky's bed, she had opened the pill bottle somehow with one hand and managed to dispense 4 of the pills into the cap. She sat the bottle down on the night stand along with the water and the cap.

"You're gonna have to sit up a little bit to take these so you don't choke on them." She said.

Micky groaned in pain.

"I'm gonna help you." She said as she grabbed the extra pillow from the other side of the bed with one hand and with the other hand picked up his head allowing her to slide the pillow underneath him propping him up so that he wasn't laying flat on the bed. This only caused him to wince even more in pain.

Micky, by this point was in such pain that he had closed his eyes and looked as though he were praying very hard for relief. He was no longer alert to what was going on around him because he was attempting so hard to find a happy place.

"Micky!" Selene said as she picked up one of the pills and placed between his lips. "You've gotta take these." She added.

She brought the cup of water up to his lips and poured some in his mouth and followed this procedure with each individual pill until all four of them were ingested.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going into the bathroom for a minute." She said to him as she walked next door to his bathroom. She vaguely remembered that there was an ice pack in there somewhere. One of the kind that you can just put ice cubes in. Based on her partial training as a nurse, she suspected some sort of inflammation was causing the pain and that the cold pack would ease the pain.

Selene returned shortly to the room where she found Micky still laying in bed propped up on pillows. He still seemed to be experiencing pain that was centralized in his lower back which was seeming to cause pain elsewhere.

"Micky, I hate to do this to you again but I'm going to move you and put this ice pack on your back." She said as she proceeded to remove the extra pillow lowering him back down to a laying position at which point, she rolled him over on his side and then onto his stomach spreading first a towel across his back and then the ice pack.

"This hurts so bad!" Micky said through tears that had started again with the maneuver, referring to the agonizing pain.

Selene knew that any form of movement seemed to aggravate the pain that he had been experiencing so she just lightly stroked his hair and stayed there with him talking quietly to him and occasionally drying some tears from his face.

Selene sat on the bed with him for a while making sure that the ice pack stayed in place. After the first 30 minutes his pain seemed to have subsided a great deal. Selene continued to reassure him that he would be alright and that everything would be ok.

"Can you roll me back over now?" Micky asked Selene. Obviously feeling a lot better than before.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" She said noticing that he had turned his head slightly so that he could look at her and also that he was apparently able to move again without causing himself the previous experience of excruciating pain.

"Yeah, maybe just put the extra pillow behind me again." He added.

Selene done as he requested carefully so as not to trigger any further pain. Things went well as she helped him roll back over and removed the ice pack from his back in the process.

Once Micky was settled and sitting up in bed, Selene lightly sat down beside him and leaned in to kiss his cheek. She didn't want to kiss him passionately at this point because of his pain. A light kiss would do.

"I'm going to go fix a little something to eat." She said. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while. Try to rest yourself in the process."

As Micky sat in bed, he began to think about things and nearly instantly broke down and began crying to himself. He was so glad that he had managed to find Selene and that she loved him and was taking such good care of him. He thanked God for that.

Selene returned to the room with some toast and hot oatmeal and noticed that Micky's eyes were red once again and that he had been crying while she was out.

She sat the tray down on the night stand.

"Are you having pain again?" She asked him.

He paused for a moment and said "No...I was just thinking about how much you love me and how thankful and fortunate that I am to have you around." He added. "I...I just love you. A lot." He said.

She realized that he wasn't in pain anymore and sat on the bed holding the breakfast tray on her lap. He ate the food that she had fixed for him and thanked her for it.

"Micky, I don't want to seem to bossy or anything, but my better judgment is telling me that you should probably stay in bed today." She said to him.

"And my better judgment is telling me that I should probably take your advice and do just that." He said, now perfectly willing not to push himself-at least for that day.


	16. Chapter 16

The Man Next Door

Micky spent the rest of the day in bed while Selene took care of his every need. He was feeling some better after last night's experience but would rather play it safe and just take it easy until his doctor's appointment that would be coming up the next day. He sure didn't want to be in that kind of pain and have to be riding around in the car. He didn't think that he could bear that at all.

Selene suspected that the pain would eventually require a more powerful painkiller and that Micky was torturing himself because of his previous addiction. She was also afraid that this may end up causing him problems in the future.

Selene spent a portion of the day in conversation with Micky. He had told her most of the dream that he had the night before about being on the beach but he stopped before the part came up where he could actually use his legs again. He didn't want to get into that right then.

"Maybe after we see what the doctor says, we could take a trip down to the beach. It's only about an hour and a half from here if you think you'd be up for that kind of a drive." Selene suggested.

"I was going to suggest the same thing. I'm glad you did." Micky answered, a thin smile spread across his face and his eyes softened.

The next night went much better than the previous night. The next morning, Selene came into his room around 6:30 to wake him and get him ready for his 9 AM doctor's appointment with Dr. Peterson.

Selene had picked out some loose fitting clothing from the closet while Micky showered and left them in the bathroom for him.

"Micky, I'm leaving your clothes here on the counter top." She announced as she put them down.

"Thanks." He said from in the shower.

Selene left the room to go fix a quick breakfast in the kitchen.

In another 15 minutes, Micky was out of the shower, dressed and in the kitchen for breakfast.

"Selene, you should go move your car back to your driveway so we can get mine out." Micky suggested as he ate his breakfast.

Selene finished her breakfast and quickly done that. She didn't mind driving the Beretta but it still had a broken window from the events that took place last week that had not been repaired. The rear window had since been covered with plastic to keep any rain and weather from damaging the inside of the car. Whenever she returned, Micky was waiting for her with a little box.

"Here's a present for you." He said as he held up the little white box.

"When did you have time to get another present?" Selene asked as she opened it and revealed a little black box on a keychain with a silver three-pointed star embossed in it.

"The keys to your new car, love!" Micky said with a smile.

Selene laid the keys aside and leaned into kiss him just beside the mouth...then lightly on the lips.

"Thank you." She said.

With that, the two of them left in the Mercedes-Benz on their way to the doctor's office.

Selene pulled the sports car into the parking lot at the hospital and then went into the place with Micky to a waiting room where they only had to wait for 20 minutes before being called back.

"Would you be too upset if I asked you to wait for me here?" Micky asked before going back to see the doctor.

"No, love. It's fine." Selene said as she remained in her seat.

She watched Micky disappear into the doctor's office and wondered whether or not he would get a good report or if something had changed.

Dr. Peterson arrived in the room shortly after Micky was prepped for the examination.

"Good morning, Mr. Dolenz." The doctor said as he walked in and plucked the chart from the tray on the door.

"I see from your chart that you've not been keeping up with recommended doctor visits and that in the meantime, you've been experiencing quite a bit of pain in your back that has progressed to the rest of your body. Is that correct?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Micky said nervously.

"Well, I'm going to order a round of X-RAYS to check for any progress from your back injury. I suspect that some of those nerves might be coming back alive but I need to be sure before we do anything else.

Micky went for X-RAYS elsewhere in the hospital which didn't take too long and then returned to wait for Dr. Peterson to come back with the results. It was nearly 10:30. " _Selene must be pacing the floor by now."_ he thought to himself.

Dr. Peterson came back in with a smile on his face.

"Great news, Mr. Dolenz! I've read your X-RAYS and it looks like a lot of the inflammation has went down and the bruising has subsided on your spinal cord which accounts for the pain that you've been experiencing."

"What's that mean?" Micky asked.

"It means, Mr. Dolenz, that you are probably going to have a great possibility for recovery!" the doctor answered.

"You mean I may be able to walk again?" Micky said excitedly.

"Not without therapy but probably, eventually. And you'll probably have to use a cane or some other support equipment at the very least but you will be able to walk again." The doctor explained.

The doctor explained Micky's therapy options thoroughly. They involved a lot of what he had read on the internet about his condition. Basically he should just simulate walking and maintain his muscle mass in his legs until the feeling comes back.

"One more thing." the doctor added. "The pain is an indication that the nerves are trying to work properly. I know it's unbearable so I'm going to prescribe a more powerful painkiller. Don't take more than two of these in a 24 hour period. They have a sleep additive as well so they're better at night." The doctor explained. That's when patients experience this type of "recovery pain" as we call it-at nighttime when the body tries to relax.

This sent chills through Micky. He was afraid of addiction which prompted him to refuse the prescription even though the doctor warned him that he would need it.

"Well, if you're going to refuse your medicine, you'll just have to tough it out. In the meantime, try to be as active as possible, try some of those exercises whenever you get the opportunity." The doctor continued as he released Micky.

Micky left the doctor's office and detailed Selene once they were in the car. Whenever he got to the part about the possibility of being able to walk again Selene pulled the car off the road, shoved it in park and looked at him stunned and excited. She couldn't resist, she leaned over, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. He pulled her closer with his left arm and moved a stray hair off her face with his right hand before cupping her face and returning the kiss.

"I am so glad you went to the doctor today, Micky!" She said clinging to him. She was obviously extremely happy about the report that he had been given. Rather than push her away, he let her be happy as long as she felt like it and accepted it with gratitude. It wasn't every day that a girl like Selene came along and he knew this. He knew way before now that if he married her that she'd stick with him no matter what because she loved him. This was completely an opposite by comparison to his past relationships when he had decided he loved a women who did not actually love him outside of physical attraction.

Before Selene had time to pull back out on the road again Micky asked her to put the top down on the Mercedes. He loved riding with the top down.

"Why do you like that so much?" She asked him as the top went down.

"It makes me feel good!" He said as he put his hands up in the air as the top went back.

"It makes the ride more fun" he said.

"Oh, so you wanna have fun?" Selene said as she punched the gas, chirping tires slightly as she pulled back out onto the road and quickly made the Mercedes accelerate up to more than 80 MPH on the straight section of road. Micky put his hands up as though he were on a roller coaster while Selene drove the car and eventually slowed back down to 60 MPH.

"Oh wow, that was exhilarating!" Micky said. "You know it will open up way more than that..."

Selene just looked at him and smiled. "I thought you'd enjoy that."

Before too long, they were back at Micky's house.

"I'm gonna go back over to my place for a little while and check on things and see if I can get the insurance to fix that Beretta but I'll be back over as soon as I finish taking care of stuff.' Selene said, leaving Micky to himself for the first time in a couple of days.

"Ok", he said as she walked out the door. "Be careful!" He added.

Once Selene was at her house, she started some laundry and cleaned the place up. After that, she finally sat down to call her insurance company about the window in the car. They just wanted to total the vehicle given its age and Blue Book value. That didn't work out too well for her.

Micky in the meantime had been on the phone in a conference conversation with Davy, Peter and Mike about his doctor visit earlier in the day. They all encouraged him to do what the doctor said and shared his joy that there was now a great possibility that he would be able to once again walk rather than be confined to a wheelchair.

Micky looked at the clock. Selene had been gone for a little over an hour at this point. He decided that he would work on some of those exercises and make that dream he had the other night a reality.

Micky began the exercise procedures by pulling put the metal leg braces that he had used before and put them on. This time feeling more confident in himself and not wondering whether or not this would be a good or bad thing. This time he also decided to use the walker rather than the crutches even though he really didn't prefer the way it looked. It did work out a lot better and he was able to use it to gain leverage on his own body and with that leverage he was able to actually make his legs move a little more and support his weight with the braces holding them straight. All the while he was watching himself in the mirror and not entirely pleased with the way he looked. He wanted to get this down really well before he let Selene know that he could actually stand up and move around. After 45 minutes of practice walking around the room, he sat down on the edge of the bed and removed the leg braces. Something made him want to put both legs up on the bed again and attempt movement to see if that'd work. He hadn't attempted this in a while. He picked up his right leg with his hands and then the left one and place them on the bed out in front of him.

Micky sat on the bed, his legs in front of him and attempted to move it. The leg actually slid sideways about 2 inches. It required lots of effort but it moved without being touched by anything else. This excited Micky. He attempted the same thing with the other one and was able to move it marginally as well. He found that he noticed at this point that he could tell that his feet were cold.

" _Can this be happening so soon?_ " Micky thought to himself as he got back into the wheelchair and studied himself while he was placing his feet on the footrests. He didn't want to even use it anymore but he didn't want to over do it either. It was much easier and much more efficient for him to move around in the chair rather than try to move around otherwise. Besides that, he actually felt more vulnerable and self conscious using the walker. Like a little old washed up disabled man.

Once he regained a little more control of movement he wanted to attempt to drive the car again at which point it was his firm desire to take Selene out on a proper date and treat her like a lady. He wanted to do that but had missed the chance after everything happened. He knew that he had created what was in her mind the perfect evening the night he proposed to her in Pennsylvania in Davy's carriage but he wanted it to be a normal date and for some reason driving and being able to open doors and things like that was a big issue for him.

Micky decided to go outside and spend some time on the deck. He liked being outside. He figured he'd take a book to read as well because he just wanted to enjoy something again. It was a perfect day outside that day with a decent weather report for the rest of the week. He missed Selene being at his side, her conversation and chipper attitude.

After another hour or two, Selene returned to Micky's house. She had seen him sitting on the back deck from her window. She had a clear view of that as well from her other window. She ended up cutting through the back yard this time and entering at the steps that led up onto the deck.

"Enjoying the sun?" She asked happily.

"Yeah, it's been nice out here today. I thought it'd be nice to work on my tan." Micky said with a smile, putting the book on the table.

"You already look wonderful." She said back to him smiling and taking the seat at the table next to where he sat.

"Are you working at the club this weekend?" Micky asked.

"Yeah but only Friday night." Selene answered.

"Wanna go down to the beach afterward on Saturday?" He asked.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Selene said.

Selene and Micky sat out on the deck for another hour or so chatting about his earlier doctor's visit and the great news that he got.

"I hope your expectations of me aren't too high." Micky said. "The doctor did say that I'd probably be able to walk again but probably not without assistance." He continued. He really wanted to make sure that she understood that because he still had recurring bouts of insecurity about the whole thing of her wanting to spend the rest of her life with a disabled man twice her age.

"No, not at all. We'll be alright. I'll work with you on it." She insisted as she laid her hand on his.

"I've gotta go back over to my house and fold laundry." Selene said.

"Are you coming back over here tonight?" Micky asked.

"Yeah, I think so." She said.

"Hey, did you call the insurance company about your car?" Micky asked.

Selene's mood seemed to go stale for a moment. "Yeah, I did but they said they would total the car because it isn't worth the cost of putting the window back in it."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." Micky told her, sending her on her way. He knew that even though he had given her the Mercedes that she still really enjoyed driving her Beretta and therefore, he would have the window repaired for her.

He still wanted to make a few more phone calls and possibly send some e-mails before Selene returned. He returned to the house and booted up the PC in his study where he uploaded the track in digital format that had been recorded in Beavertown the previous week without Selene's knowledge. He played it back a few times. The last time he closed his eyes so that he could absorb the full impact of the song and Selene's voice. He couldn't believe that she had a voice like this! In closing his eyes, It actually wasn't difficult for him to envision Patsy Cline resurrected and singing to him in person. Still, there was something about Selene that made her vocals different from that of any of the artists that she covered in her performances. She needed her own song to top things off. This track would just get her foot in the door.

With that thought, Micky decided to fire off a couple of e-mails and invite some people to her performance that weekend just to gauge their interest in her and see how far that went. He explained to them all along that he didn't want them to let her know that he sent the track. Rather, just let her think that they were hanging out in the Deep Dish and overheard it randomly. Within 10 minutes of sending off the first round of e-mails to his friends in the business 2 of them called him to confirm that they'd be there that Friday night. The others sent positive e-mail responses with regard to the voice clip that he had sent them but were unable to attend the performance.

He would wait and see how things went and maybe tell Selene what he'd done afterward. He wanted to do something for her that would give her a good life and a good income even after he was gone.


	17. Chapter 17

The Man Next Door

Friday morning, Micky was up bright and early. He had called a local glass shop scheduled to deliver the window and install it there in the driveway. They arrived right on time at 8 AM. Micky was waiting for them.

"Good morning, sir." The man said who got out of the glass repair truck. "We've got a repair job scheduled on a ...black Beretta?" He added looking around and spotting the car.

"Yeah, it's right over there." Micky said pointing to a covered vehicle sitting in Selene's driveway.

"Just come over here when you're finished and I'll pay you for it." Micky said, leaving them to do the repair on the car.

"Ok, but it's going to be about 600.00 for a rear window." They warned him.

"Oh, I didn't want just a rear window. The front windshield has a few pits and a crack in it as well. I want both windows replaced." He added.

"Ok, that's going to run you over 1300.00 for parts and labor, dude. We'll have to have payment up front for that. This car just isn't worth that much." The repairman said. "We won't even be able to repo it for the cost if the check bounces." he continued.

"Just do the repair work on the car. I'll have the money. I know the car isn't worth that amount but it needs to be done." Micky said to them a little more demanding at the same time pulling a wad of cash out of his pocket and flashing it at them. "Just do it and ask questions later" Micky snapped as he turned to go back inside.

The repairman's assistant who came with him gave a look of shock and about that time, got his boss' attention.

"Do you know who that is?" He asked and didn't even wait for an answer. "That dude was Micky Dolenz...he's a celebrity and you just pissed him off."

Micky hated it whenever he called someone to do a job and they acted like that. He didn't get that much with his stuff but it seemed that Selene quite often got the shitty end of the stick on things. First whenever she was going car shopping with him and then now whenever they took one look at that car and didn't even want to work on it because in both cases, they were more concerned about whether or not they'd make a buck on it. It was always about the money with people.

Later that day, Selene went outside to find that her driveway was covered in water. Micky was there also. He had apparently washed the car for her and was just drying off the parts that he could easily reach with a micro fiber cloth. It looked the best it had looked in years. She really hadn't taken the time to wash the vehicle that often in the past and had allowed it to become dusty. At this point, it looked almost like a brand new car!

"It doesn't leak!" Micky exclaimed.

"Micky, you didn't have to do this." She said as she approached him.

"I knew you were going to the club tonight and I figured you'd probably enjoy driving this car again so I wanted it to look nice." he said.

"Were you planning on going with me down there?" She asked him.

"Yes, of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said.

"Well, I hope it doesn't upset you too much but I figured if you were going, we could take the Mercedes since it's a little easier for you to ride in." She said.

"Sure, anything you want." He said in agreement and not wanting to insist that she take the Beretta. In fact, he would prefer that she drive the Mercedes to and from work and around town if she had to be out after dark because it was more reliable and although he wouldn't admit it, it was in fact more comfortable for him. Unlike the Mercedes, there was a back seat. The front seat could be pushed back a little further making entry and exit a little easier for him.

"Wanna come over and help me pick out an outfit to wear tonight?" She asked.

"That sounds like a lot of fun." Micky said as he followed her back into her house.

"Well, I've got a whole closet of stage clothing in here that I usually wear. Some of it's flashy while some of it is just a particular style like country/western, rock...you get the idea." She explained to him.

"Tonight is country western night at the club so I'll probably need to wear something to correspond with that theme." She told him.

"I think I'll start by wearing that suede hat of yours!" She said as she plucked it from her vanity where she had left it upon returning from the trip in which she obtained it.

"Well, that's an excellent choice, my dear!" Micky said whenever she turned around to face him.

"Ok, well there are three outfits here that I really like to wear. One of them is a jeans and fringe shirt, the other one is a wrap around suede skirt that would go with this hat really well and has a tank top with a V neck to go with it while the final outfit is a denim skirt that has a red and white bandana paisley printed shirt to match. All three outfits come with black cowboy boots." She said as she laid out the clothing on the bed that was in the room so that Micky could look over it and help her decide.

This was a great chance for him to dress her for success tonight with his people coming to watch. He didn't want to blow it so he suggested the brown suede skirt paired up with the tank top since the two of them looked nice together. Nobody said he couldn't mix and match the selections. Selene seemed to like that pair as well.

"Do you have some turquoise jewelry anywhere that you can wear, dear?" Micky asked.

"Yeah, I think there's some of that south western stuff in mom's jewelry that she picked up a long time ago on a trip to New Mexico. It's silver and turquoise. I'll go check for it." Selene answered.

Shortly Selene returned with her mom's jewelry box and opened it. There wasn't a whole lot of stuff in there but there was a set of jewelry like Micky had mentioned. He picked up the necklace which was long enough to accentuate the V neck of the tank top and dangle just at the top of where her cleavage would begin. There was a series of bangle bracelets that were silver and designed to be worn two to three on each arm along with some earrings. She didn't wear earrings at all.

"Well, now that we've decided what I'm going to be wearing tonight, give me a moment to change into it and I'll be right back." She said as she turned to walk into the bathroom.

She didn't shut the door all the way. It was opened just a crack. Micky could somewhat see what was going on in there because of a certain well placed mirror but chose to move himself to another location so that he wouldn't be tempted to look.

In a few minutes, Selene came out with the outfit on and modeled it for Micky.

"Looks smashing, love, but you need a different pair of shoes. Those boots just aren't working." He said bluntly.

"I've got the perfect pair of high heels." She said as she went to the closet again and pulled out a matching pair of plain high heels then put them on. Strangely enough, Micky knew what he was talking about when it came to fashion and this get up looked great.

"You look perfect!" Micky said to Selene.

"I just need to do my make up and I'll be ready to hit the road!" She said to him as she went back into the bathroom, this time leaving the door opened so that he could clearly see into the room.

"Don't use too much eye liner." Micky said to her from outside. "It makes you look too dramatic." he added.

She found it somewhat strange that he was telling her how to apply her makeup but figured that he was just experienced with it and was offering helpful advice. She didn't know that he was offering advice that would make her appeal to some big names in the business.

"Gimme a hug hot stuff!" Micky said as she walked out of the bathroom toward him, turned around a full 360 degrees and modeled the outfit for him.

Selene was feeling somewhat turned on at the time and decided to act on impulse. She approached Micky and this time instead of sitting on his lap like a lady, she straddled his lap with her knees and made the skirt come up slightly revealing her panties. She intentionally somewhat stood over him on her knees so that her breasts were very close to his nose and then placed a hand behind his head at the nap of his neck, pulling him slightly up against herself and then kissing him as she ran her other free hand down his chest and snaked her arm around his waist, pressing herself into him all the while. This kiss lasted for at least a few minutes if not longer. Micky wasn't expecting anything like this. He just asked for a hug but he welcomed this. Micky held her with his right hand around the waist and ran his left hand up her leg which was beside him in the chair eventually ending at the now extremely high hem of her skirt. He didn't go any further than that although he would have liked to and entertained that thought briefly. Once Selene pulled out of the kiss, she put one foot on the floor and then the other one realizing that her left shoe had come off in the process of it all.

"Oh my!" Selene said laughing and looking at Micky.

"I am so sorry!" She said through more giggles.

Micky was slightly confused but whatever it was, at least it wasn't bad.

Selene ran into the bathroom and returned with a hand mirror. Not only was Micky's hair slightly messy. His face was covered with various lip prints.

"Now you gotta clean me up." He said also laughing. "I don't think I've ever had that many lip prints on me at once." He added.

Selene pushed his chair into the bathroom and quickly cleaned the lip prints off his face and smoothed his hair back down like it should be.

"You know, we should go get you dressed for the ball tonight...you know, so we at least match." Selene suggested to Micky.

Selene touched up her makeup and then the two of them went over to his house where Selene picked out his outfit which turned out to be his black cowboy boots, bright black jeans that fit very snugly and a black and white western printed long sleeve shirt with a black cowboy hat. He sizzled in her eyes.

The two of them arrived at the Deep Dish later that evening where they both entered through the front door. Micky even signed a few autographs and took some pictures with a few of his fans who happened to have cameras. Selene posed with him for a few shots as well by sitting on his lap for some of the pictures and standing beside him for others.

This time Selene had called ahead and arranged for Micky to have a better table than the last time he had been to the club. She wanted him to have the one right in front of the stage. She only told him this whenever they arrived.

 _"Damn, now she's going to wonder who those people are who are going to be sitting with me."_ he thought to himself. He quickly dismissed that thought once they were inside. After all, he had a lot of friends. It wouldn't be so out of the question for somebody he knew to show up that night and hook up with him. He had planned on telling her later on anyway what he had done.

Micky was waiting at the table while Selene was back stage. The stage band played various popular modern country music songs. Finally Micky's friends showed up. Bert and Bob quickly located Micky's table and sat down with him. He hadn't seen them in a while but they were the guys who made him a success back in the day and he had no doubt that with their many years of experience that they could launch Selene into the business as well. They had access to a lot of songwriters who had written the songs that defined a generation. He wanted one of those such songs for Selene.

"Geez, Micky, what happened to you?" Bob asked." Burt just stood around and listened to how the conversation played out as Micky explained briefly what had happened over recent months then quickly shifted from that conversation to the one about Selene's singing. He told them a little bit about her and then ended up cutting that short because she was coming out on stage.

"My god, she's got the legs of a goddess!" Burt said.

"That's for damn sure!" Bob agreed

"Stop it!" Micky shot back at his two friends. "Don't look at her like that!" He continued.

Both men apologized for their comments about Selene.

"What's happened to you over the years, man? You seem to uptight." Burt said.

"Yeah, you used to be a lady chaser and you used to be a lot more fun than you are right now." Bob added.

As the show continued, Burt and Bob became entranced with Selene's performance and agreed to get back with Micky on a recording deal after they secured some appropriate songs and writers for Selene.

Micky bid them farewell just before Selene returned from the dressing room so she didn't get to talk with them. She had however, noticed that he was sitting with some guys while she was on stage.

Once the two of them were back in the car and on their way home she asked him about his friends.

"Who were those guys who were sitting with you during the show?" Selene asked.

"Just some friends." Micky told her and left it at that.

She knew that they were probably more than just friends but could tell that he didn't want to tell her about it or fill her in on the details for some reason.

"Alright, if you don't want to tell me anything about them just say so." She added to what she had just said.

Micky sat there for a few minutes and then finally he couldn't stand it anymore so he told her.

"Selene, Burt and Bob were the masterminds behind The Monkees back in the sixties. They have connections, lots of them. I wanted to bring them to hear you sing because I thought that I could help you make a dream come true, you know...you'd get discovered and get a recording deal." He explained.

Selene just drove the car and listened to him explain. He continued "I sent them a recording behind your back." Micky said then stopped, waiting for her response.

"But I've never been recorded professionally." Selene said.

"I know." Micky said in a smaller voice. "I slipped a recording when we were all jamming in Beavertown."

"You did what?" Selene said, somewhat in shock.

"What did you record?" She added only half recalling the songs that she sang with the Monkees the previous week.

"The Patsy Cline covers. I just thought that they were really beautiful and your voice is so crisp and powerful whenever you sing those. I sent it via e-mail to Burt and Bob along with a few other people I know and they wanted to come see you after they heard it."

"Oh, ok. Well, I'd have appreciated it if you had of asked me first or maybe told me that you were recording me." She said. She wasn't too upset about it. Micky thought that she might be furious with him but she seemed to know his heart in the matter and she seemed to realize that he had good intentions in mind for her whenever he done that.

"I just wanna add this." Micky said. "I wanted to tell you but I think people generally record their best stuff whenever they don't know that they're being recorded. I wanted to tell you, I really did and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before now. I just didn't know how to tell you." He explained.

"It's ok." Selene said as they pulled in the driveway.

"Hey, listen Micky, if it's ok with you I think I'm going to go over to my house and pack some stuff for our trip out to the beach tomorrow but I'll be over after I'm finished." She said.

"No!" Micky said with a concerned look on his face. "It's nearly midnight, it's dark and I don't want to take any chances that Trevor may be lurking around watching you. I'll come with you." He insisted.

Selene didn't protest. Once she had her things packed up for their trip the next day, they both returned to Micky's house. She stopped by the car and put the suitcase in the trunk before going inside.

Selene and Micky went inside the house. Micky still needed to pack his things for the beach.

"Want me to help you pack?" Selene asked him as he started pulling his outfits out of his closet and laying them out for each day.

"If you want to." Micky said.

Selene folded the clothes that he had laid out on the bed for each day as he laid them out.

Once everything was packed neatly in the suitcase and it was shut, Selene looked around the place as though something were missing.

"What are you looking for?" Micky asked her, confused.

"Are you going to take any of your hats?" She said "You didn't pack any and I was just looking for one."

"Do you think I should take some hats?" He asked.

"Yeah, cause if you don't, you're liable to get sunburned and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" She cautioned.

Micky smiled and pulled two hats out of his closet and sat them on top of the suitcase. "There!" He said to Selene with a smile. He knew that she thought the hats looked especially nice on him. He also knew that she was probably right about getting sunburn and he really didn't want that.

The next morning, the two of them put everything else that was going on the trip into the Mercedes along with themselves and set off on the open road for the hour and a half drive out to the beach.

"So, where are we going to stay for the night?" Selene asked Micky, curious to see what sort of arrangements he had made online since he didn't tell her.

"We're staying at the Ocean Side Condo for the week!" Micky said, smiling.

"The week?!" Selene said somewhat shocked. "That's one of the most expensive places down there!" Selene protested.

"Expensive, yes. But it's also very nice and fully accessible so you won't have to lug me around everywhere like a ball and chain." Micky said, only half joking. He was trying to make the best of his situation.

"I got us a nice 2 bedroom condo with a Jacuzzi and an ocean view balcony. There's a kitchen and living room area too. It also came with a room service package that I thought you'd enjoy. I don't want you doing anything on this trip. I want you to fully be able to relax and enjoy it without cleaning things up, cooking or doing dishes." Micky explained.

Selene was smitten with him for the moment. She couldn't believe how kind he was and whenever he done sweet little things like this she just couldn't help but gush love over him that much more.

"That is so sweet of you, Micky. I think I'm already starting to enjoy it." She said as she drove down the road.

It was getting to be around 10:30 in the morning and they were both a little thirsty. It was a rather warm day outside but strange as Selene was, she had gotten used to not having AC in the car for about the past 6 years because she didn't have it in her Beretta so she just failed to turn it on and drove with the window down. This never ceased to amaze Micky. He got quite a kick out of watching her break a sweat and only then reminded her that she could put the top down or turn on the AC. They stopped at a gas station and got some drinks out of an off brand soda machine and then headed back to the car where Selene decided that she would put the top down because she knew that Micky enjoyed it. Using the AC usually cooled her off but eventually resulted in making her cold. It just wasn't the same as outside air.

"I thought that we could do some wedding shopping while we were down here." Micky said to Selene. "I hope you don't mind that I set you up an appointment with a dress designer so that you could look at some things and maybe pick out something you like." He continued.

"What? Me use a dress designer? That would be mighty costly, wouldn't it?" Selene said half surprised and half excited.

"Selene, I think you're wonderful and I know this is the second time around for me on a wedding but it's your first time and it's going to be all about you and I want to do everything I can to make it special for you. It's ok. Don't worry about the expense. I'm picking up the tab." Micky insisted.

"Ok, I'll go check it out and see what I can find." She agreed, still surprised because a wedding had potential to be very expensive very fast.

"And don't you even ask about a spending limit." Micky said as they pulled into the parking lot at the Ocean View Condo.

"I can't wait to get out to the beach!" Micky said as Selene got out of the car and brought him the chair.

Once they were checked in they didn't bother to unpack things other than changing into their bathing suits.

Selene had packed a sexy bathing suit that was a 2 piece bikini in black with white flowers. The bottom was in the style of a short skirt while the top was a standard bikini top. It was retro. Micky came out of his room wearing some Hawaiian swim trunks and a tank top. Whenever he saw Selene come out of her room in that sexy little bikini, he didn't know what to think. She made his blood boil and his eyes budge-not to mention other things! This was the first time Micky had seen this much of Selene. He wanted nothing more than for her body to be close to his so that he could run his fingers all over her smooth, supple skin, play with her hair, maybe even slip off that bikini top and apply some lotion.

They went straight down to the beach. It was at that point, that Micky discovered that the chair didn't do all that great in the sand and he had to let Selene push him. The chair still wasn't going all that great in the sand so they decided rather than walking around on the beach, they'd spread their beach blanket and put up their umbrella so that they could just enjoy the beach.

"Do you think if I join you on that blanket that we can get me back in that chair later?" Micky asked, somewhat uncertain of himself. He had done pretty well getting from one thing to another when leaving his chair but he hadn't tried to get back in it yet in public and not from the ground on the beach. He really didn't want to draw attention or cause a public scene.

Selene thought about it for a moment and then said "Try it. If you can't get back up in the chair, I think I can help you without too much trouble." She said smiling at him.

She sat on the blanket whenever she got it spread out and patted the ground beside herself.

Micky carefully moved his feet and legs so that he could lower himself out of the chair onto the ground using the chair for leverage and managed to do it.

"Selene? Could you put that chair over there behind us so I don't have to look at it right now?" He asked of her.

She didn't say anything but got up and collapsed it moving it out of his sight and even covering it with an extra beach towel that she had brought.

"That good?" She asked him.

"Wonderful!" He said as he lay on the blanket propping himself up with one hand on his elbow. He had taken off his hat and laid it on the ground in front of him. This would have made an excellent photo but Selene left the camera in her suitcase in the room.

"Want me to put some sun screen on you?" Selene asked Micky.

He looked at her and giggled. "Are you trying to get me to take off my shirt?" He asked her, smiling.

She was on her knees beside him and nodded. How could he refuse that?

"You know, I'm getting beyond the point where people will find me attractive around places like this, do you think this is such a great idea, love?" He said with that signature Micky chuckle that she had come to know and love.

"I don't wanna end up in the category of those people who go to the beach and everybody else wonders why they're even allowed on the beach because they weigh 300 pounds and try to wear a bikini or they're broken down old wrinkly farts like me who are a good 25 years past the point of being sexy and wanna take it all off and show it off." He said laughing at this point but he was half serious at the same time. "I haven't been working out, you know." He said as he finally did sit up and take off the tank top. He tossed it aside then rolled over on his back and stretched his arms out to his sides.

"Lotion me baby!" He said, putting his hat over top of his face.

Selene laughed and then squirted him with cold lotion from the bottle that she had beginning at the top of his chest and making a straight line all the way down to his waistline. She put the bottle down and began massaging the lotion into his torso with both hands, moving down bit by bit.

"You've still got some shape." She said to him as she blended the lotion into his skin and very evidently was feeling of his every curve and muscle. As her hands got closer to his waistline, he knew that she wasn't going to go any further but he couldn't help feeling turned on by her tantalizing fingers. In his mind, he was replaying the dream he had previously only he was in actuality enjoying the touch of her hands against his body. It wasn't a dream. It was really happening and he didn't want it to end.

Selene continued rubbing in the lotion moving from his torso to his arms and then decided that she would go down his legs just for good measure. Micky felt her hands slither down his chest and then it stopped. He could no longer feel her touch but he knew that she was rubbing his legs down with lotion. This took a slight emotional toll on him. It was a good thing that he had the hat over his face or Selene might have seen his expression at that moment. He didn't want to ruin this trip in any way so he wouldn't say anything to her or ask her to stop. He would rather just enjoy the attention anyway. Selene loved him-all of him. Just as he was in the middle of that thought, he felt something odd. He felt a pulling sensation in his big toe.

"Roll over, stud!" Selene said apparently finished with his front side. Micky didn't roll over but instead took the hat off his face and raised his head so that he was looking at Selene who was sitting on her knees at his feet and just as he had thought, she was sitting there holding his foot in her hand, particularly his big toe.

He pushed himself up on his elbows.

"Selene, could you pull on my big toe?" He asked out of curiosity.

Selene gave an odd look but done so.

"Selene! I felt that! I felt you pulling on my toe!" Micky said with careful excitement.

"Are you serious?!" Selene said as her mood went from happy to ecstatic.

"Can you feel any of this?" Selene said as she fingered every inch of his feet and pulled on the rest of his toes a little.

"No, not yet...Just that one" He said but he was still excited about being able to feel that one little sensation of touch from Selene.

"Micky, didn't you say that the doctor told you that you you would begin to get feeling back soon?" Selene asked.

"Yeah, he said that but I didn't hardly believe him since it's been months since the accident" Micky said.

"Things like this take time. You had one hell of a toss from that car." She explained to him, trying to make him once again see the seriousness of his injuries and that it would be a long healing process.

"He also said something else..." Micky trailed off and paused as though he didn't want to continue with that.

"What?" Selene asked, moving to Micky's side where she could be closer to him.

"Well...He...he said that whenever the feeling began to come back that I would be in enormous pain because that means that the nerves are working again...or trying to work. He offered me some medicine for the pain but I didn't take the prescription since I don't want to go through that again." Micky explained, obviously realizing that there was a great possibility that the doctor was right and that he would soon begin to experience a great deal of pain. He hoped that it wouldn't happen on this trip. He wanted it to be perfect and he had been feeling pretty well during the previous week since his last incident.

Selene started to say something but Micky interrupted her.

"Selene, you gotta promise me something." He said with urgency in his voice.

"You've gotta promise me that no matter how much pain I am in or how much I agony I seem to be in that you will not give me any painkiller that is a narcotic or an opioid - and don't let anyone else either." He said.

Selene sat there and thought about it for a moment. The thought of seeing Micky in that much pain hurt but she knew why he didn't want medication to help with it and she decided that she would respect that.

"Ok, I promise." Selene told him.

Micky leaned over and kissed her "Thank you, love. You're the greatest!" He said.

Selene reached over and got the lotion bottle once again. "Roll over, stud!" She said. "I didn't finish with your lotion rub down."

Micky smiled and rolled over on his stomach so that she could lotion his back. Selene helped him reposition his legs and feet so that he would be comfortable. This time she began at the top and fingered him all the way down before beginning to rub the lotion in. He felt the cool lotion on his back but it quickly warmed up. Once again Selene reached the point where he couldn't feel anything.

"I gotta tell you something." Selene said. "You've got nice legs for a guy." She added. She was gripping the back of his thighs at this point.

This remark struck Micky as being somewhat odd, especially since in the last few months he knew that he didn't have near the amount of muscle mass that he once had before the accident. "They've been nicer." He said back to her with a chuckle.

Selene finished with the lotion rub down and came to sit beside Micky again. He rolled back over once again so that he could see her. It did feel good to be on the beach. Laying on warm sand on a blanket felt really great to him. He found his Aviator sunglasses in the bag nearby and put them on.

"What about you, dear?" Micky said as he pointed to the visible parts of her body. "You're gonna get sunburn all over if you don't get some lotion on that." He said.

She handed him the lotion bottle.

Micky hadn't put lotion on a woman in a really long time. In fact, he never recalled sharing something this simple with his last wife. He had put lotion on plenty of ladies back whenever he was in his twenties and heavily dating but that was different. He was doing that with one thing in mind-touchy feely and getting them into the bedroom. They didn't love him. They were only infatuated with him, his career and partying with other celebrities.

Micky motioned for Selene to come sit in front of him which would put her directly between his legs. As she did, she noticed something. He had actually managed to spread his legs a bit without even realizing it.

"Micky! Do you know what you just done!?" She said with excitement. She didn't give him time to answer. 'You just moved your legs! I saw it! Try to do that again!" Selene said with excitement.

Micky knew that he would be able to move if he tried. He had already figured this out weeks ago. Instead of letting Selene know that he already knew about this, he figured he'd just do it again since she was so excited about it. He liked to see her smile.

"Wow!" Micky said as he moved his legs once again slightly.

"We should try to work with that." Selene suggested as she moved to sit in front of him so he could put lotion on her back.

She placed her hands beside her on his thighs while she sat there.

Micky took the same pleasure in applying lotion to Selene as he had taken in getting it applied to himself. He began at the top of her back, taking care to push her hair aside and lay it over one shoulder then he rubbed the lotion in, touching every inch of her back and down her arms, even running a finger underneath the strap on the bikini. He didn't dare fiddle with untying that strap on Selene like he had with other girls back in his younger days.

"What do you mean try to work with that?" Micky asked.

"Well, I think that's a good sign that it would be ok to check into some physical therapy. The doctor did mention that, right?" Selene asked.

Micky continued running his hands down her arms and back.

"Yeah, he said that I should just go through the motions of walking and try to keep my muscles in shape." He said.

"Walk with what?" Selene asked.

Micky did not want Selene to have to see him using all sorts of support equipment. Using a wheelchair made him feel bad enough but somehow not as bad as if he had to use braces and a walker to move around.

"Leg braces and a walker." Micky said as he let a sigh of defeat escape. Selene heard the tone of his voice and knew that he really didn't want this. She knew that he probably knew that he would have a bit more difficulty getting around once he switched tactics but it was something that would have to be done if he ever wanted to walk again.

Selene turned around to look Micky in the eye. "Do you want to be able to walk again?" Selene asked Micky point blank.

"Yeah, of course. That would be the best thing ever." He said to her.

"Well, you're going to have to do what the doctor says. I'm sure we can find an improvisation for you if you don't want to use the braces and the walker all the time but you're going to have to start giving that a shot." She explained.

"I didn't spend too long in the nursing program but I did have a few semesters of physical therapy." Selene explained.

"So, what are you saying?" Micky asked, hoping for the best.

"I'm saying that perhaps we could work on your rehab at home rather than in public. I know how you feel about making public scenes and drawing attention to yourself. If you were already at home, you wouldn't be drawing attention from anyone other than me." She said with a wink. "And I know you wouldn't say no to that."

Finally Micky agreed to give that idea a try once they got back from their trip and see how it worked out.

"I used to like to walk the beach and pick up seashells." Micky said, half sounding like he wished he could do that right now. "And feel the water rushing in at my feet while I was picking up shells."

Being modest, Micky handed the lotion back to Selene and let her finish her front side.

"Wanna do my legs?" She asked him once she was done with the lotion.

A big smile spread across Micky's face as he took the lotion bottle. Selene threw her legs across his lap and wrapped her arms around him for a brief hug.

Micky began rubbing the lotion into her legs beginning at the bottom and going all the way up. She had long slender legs that were well toned but not muscular. Very pretty legs that he very much enjoyed having his hands on. He took great pleasure in applying sunscreen all the way up to her hips being careful not to be too touchy with her beyond what he felt she was comfortable with. He doubted that she'd ever given this much of herself to anyone before.

"Wanna go look for some shells?" Selene asked Micky

"Babe, I think you're gonna have to go get some and bring em back to me. This chair doesn't work that well in sand." He replied.

Selene was willing to try it to make Micky happy. She thought she could pull it off. She had pushed it through the sand this far. Pushing him down to the water's edge wasn't going to be that difficult.

"Come on, we can just go down to the edge of the ocean, play in the water a little bit and pick up a few shells then come back. It isn't that far."

Micky half reluctantly crawled back up into the wheelchair whenever she brought it back around for him.

"I hope this works." Micky said as he put his feet on the footrests.

"If it doesn't, I'll carry you back up here myself!" Selene said as she began pushing the chair through the sand toward the ocean.

"Just gonna toss me over your shoulder and haul me back, just like that?" Micky said, this time laughing.

"Yep!" Selene said as she went toward the water's edge.

Once they were near the water's edge, she put the chair just at the point to where the waves wouldn't hit it whenever they came in.

"Ok, get out of the chair." She said to Micky.

"What?!" He said.

"Get out of the chair." She said once again.

"But I can't swim! My legs don't work!" He protested.

Selene at this point, realized that his concern wasn't making a public scene but rather had shifted to the fact that he couldn't swim. She walked over in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder, squatting so that she'd be on his level and told him "Micky, I'm here and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I just want to have a good time and I know you will enjoy this. It's going to be ok. I promise."

When Selene used those two words-"I promise" Micky knew that she was sincere and at that point he apologized to her and lowered himself out of the chair and onto the sand once again. Before too long, they were out in the ocean far enough so that the water was up to their waist. Selene had walked out into the ocean with Micky holding onto her and scooting himself a little bit at a time toward the water.

"See, you're alright. I've got you." Selene said as they stood in the ocean.

"It's weird, this actually feels like I'm standing up again on my own." Micky said.

"Can you swim?" Selene asked Micky.

"Well, I used to be able to swim before..." He stopped.

"Before the accident, I know. Try swimming with your arms." Selene encouraged him. "Don't worry, if you start to sink, I'll grab you." She reassured.

Micky didn't protest this time but instead tried it and before he knew it, he realized that he was moving through the water. Not as fast as when he could use his legs for that sort of thing but he was moving, unassisted and not sinking.

Once Selene saw that he was comfortable and seemed to be enjoying himself independently of her holding onto him, she began looking for some shells nearby while he enjoyed the water.

Micky had now managed to make himself float in the water so he could stay above water without sinking and move around. It was like a newfound freedom to him and he liked it. He pulled himself through the water toward Selene and floated nearby. "Go ahead, I think I'll be fine over here. In fact, I want to stay in the ocean for a while." He explained to her. "Thank you for getting me out here, love. I wouldn't have done it without you." He said.

Selene wrapped her arms around Micky and pulled him toward her, this time holding him along with the water in an upright position and kissing him in the ocean. When she was done, she said "I'm glad we found something that we can both enjoy." smiling at him.

Selene walked around in the ocean nearby where Micky was swimming and found several shells that she picked up. Time flew by while the two of them were in the water. After a bit, Selene approached Micky again and showed him the shells that she had picked up. While she had been picking up shells, Micky had been practicing his swimming skills and had managed to actually dive underwater and pick up a few shells of his own. He had two or three nice ones stuffed into the mesh zipped pockets of his swim trunks.

The two of them returned to the beach blanket, Micky being especially happy about what he had been able to do that day and laid the shells out on the blanket so that they could look at them.

Micky had managed to find a small conch shell while Selene found mostly flat shells. They were all beautiful. One of them was a long spike shaped shell. Micky had picked up this one from the bottom of the ocean.

"Look what else I found!" Micky said pulling something else out of his other pocket.

He revealed a perfect sand dollar that he had picked up off the bottom of the ocean. He gave it to Selene.

"I want you to have this one." He said as he placed it in her hand.

"It's beautiful." She said to him as she accepted it. "Aren't these things on the bottom of the ocean normally?" She asked him.

"Yeah, that's where it came from." He said, smiling. "But it's no longer alive" he explained as he showed her the back side of it.

This was the happiest that Selene had seen Micky since the accident-genuinely, and deeply happy. She knew that he would be much happier if he regained the ability to walk again but the path leading to that would be a hard, painful one and probably long.

"Think we should go grab something to eat?" Micky suggested. "We haven't eat anything all day." He added.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." Selene said, getting Micky's chair and packing up their things to take back to the condo.


	18. Chapter 18

The Man Next Door 

Selene sat at the table looking through a local directory of places they could eat and found something that looked kind of nice.

"Hey Micky." She called to him from the kitchen. "There's this place down on the boardwalk called the Blue Chateau. Do you think that's something you'd be interested in checking out?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's a great place!" Micky said as he came out of the bathroom from having a shower.

Selene raised her eyes from the directory to Micky, who was sitting in the bathroom doorway, wet hair that was slicked back on his head, a few droplets of water on his face and shoulders and nothing but a towel draped across his lap. She was slightly embarrassed that he came out like that but at the same time found herself enjoying it then realized the reason for it.

"Sorry, I left my clothes in the suitcase and didn't take them in the bathroom with me." Micky said in a sheepish voice as he went to the bedroom and took out what he needed, returned to the bathroom and got dressed.

From the bedroom he told her "The Blue Chateau is a really nice place. I've been there before. It's kind of classy so you might wanna wear something besides shorts and that tank top." He suggested.

"Maybe we should save that one for dinner then." She suggested. "there's another place on the boardwalk that's a seafood place and it's got outdoor dining." She said.

"Well, we can try that one too and then go to the Blue Chateau for dinner." Micky agreed.

Once Micky was dressed he came out of the bedroom to be beside Selene, who was still looking at the telephone directory at the round glass top table in the kitchenette.

"Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable whenever I came out of the bathroom a while ago." He said to her in a sincere, concerned tone.

"No, it's alright, I just wasn't expecting it, that's all." She said non nonchalantly with a smile.

"Well, if you're ready to go, let's be on our way." Selene said as she got up from the chair and walked with Micky over to the door. He went slightly ahead of her because he wanted to open the door for her. Selene still found these efforts of his to be incredibly sweet. He was a perfect gentleman despite leaving his clothes in the bedroom but she wasn't going to worry about that. If she was going to marry him anyway, she had decided that she might as well get a good look at what she was getting-which seemed pleasing enough as it was.

"After you, beautiful!" He said as he held the door and then left locking it behind him.

They walked down the boardwalk together toward the seafood place that Selene had found in the directory. Whenever they got there, they were surprised to find that it was actually a pretty nice place. There was a front door that led to a rear deck that was built at the ocean so that you could eat and watch the ocean. It wasn't crowded at all. Most people had already eaten by this time of day and the lunch rush was over. This was good too. There wasn't a lot of privacy options for dining in this place. Micky might actually be recognized there if too many people were there even though he had decided to wear his hat and not ponytail his hair this time. He also pulled out his aviators again since they were outside. After all, they were classy and stylish.

They picked a seat near the railing close to the ocean. A table for two. The menu was under the glass on the table top.

Soon a waiter came over to take their drink orders.

"What'll it be for the lady?" He asked as he prepared to write up the order.

"I think I'll have some sweet tea...make it extra sweet." She said, smiling at the waiter.

"And for you, Mr. Dolenz"? The waiter said obviously recognizing the celebrity but at this point not making a big deal out of it.

"You know what, I think I'll try what Selene's having. Some sweet tea that's extra sweet." He said.

The waiter left to get the drinks.

"That's odd of you, Micky." Selene said. "You usually don't like that much sugar in your tea." She added.

"Thought I'd try something new. I figure you're going to be making pitchers of tea for me in the future and I'd better make sure I like it." He said smiling.

Just then the waiter returned with the sweet teas and took their order for food.

Micky sipped the tea sparingly at first. "This isn't bad." He said after he tasted it.

"Nope, taste good. I don't like it at all without sugar." Selene said to him.

"Not at all?" Micky asked.

"Not one little bit!" Selene said taking another drink of her tea.

"To tell you the truth, I never added sugar to tea before I met you. I just never done that. It's more of a southern trend really, from what I know of it." Micky said.

"Well, Micky, to tell you the truth, I'm a southern girl." She said smiling and putting on her best back home southern accent.

"Really?" Micky inquired.

"Where are you from?" He continued.

"I grew up in North Carolina. Dad was in the military for a while so we moved a lot but we lived there until I was about 12 or 13. From there we moved several times until his retirement. We settled in California at that point and I was probably around 16 years old and have lived there ever since." She said.

"And you're how old now?" Micky asked, wondering if he had just asked a loaded question that was a bad choice.

"I'll be 28 next month." Selene said. "Sometimes I feel like I'm getting old before I'm ready to be old."

"We're all getting old before we're ready to be old." Micky said.

"No, I mean most people are married and have a few kids and things like that by the time they're my age and are well settled." She explained.

"You're getting married." He said.

"Yeah I know, but I was just saying that I wish I had of met you sooner and...well, you know. Spent all of those past years with you. I wasted so much time on Charles. I thought I loved him at the time but it doesn't compare to what we have." She said.

"And if you had of met me several years ago in your early twenties, you would have been dealing with me at a horrible time in my life plus my ex wife was around then too." Micky mentioned through a chuckle. "That wouldn't have made a good situation."

"Just take what we have now and enjoy it. Enjoy life for the moment because you don't know when it's going to be taken away from you." He said, letting his eyes wander along the ocean.

Selene knew what he meant and also knew that he knew about this more than anyone else she knew because he had nearly had his life taken from him just a few months ago.

"You said you grew up in North Carolina, that'd explain the odd little ways you say certain things once in a while." Micky said as he picked up the ketchup bottle and squirted his fries.

"What do you mean?" Selene asked.

"Sometimes when you're talking, you just say things oddly...not the way I'm used to hearing it and at times, you've even got a southern draw going on." He explained. "It does explain why you are able to sing country songs so damn well, though! You grew up practically next door to Nashville."

"Well, I did kind of try to shake that southern accent because people made fun of me whenever I was in school after we moved back out here." Selene said.

"You've done a pretty good job of that. You don't sound southern at all except for certain things that just come out different but they're not really that noticeable in conversation unless someone's paying attention." Micky said.

Selene smiled at him as she sipped the tea through the straw and then ate some more of her tuna wrap.

"If you wondered, I kind of like that little southern accent of yours." Micky added. "And Mike is the one who first mentioned it to me that you might be from somewhere in the south."

"Well, that makes sense. He's from Texas, right?" Selene asked.

"Yeah, he grew up in Texas and as you probably already noticed, he has a deep southern accent that never disappeared." Micky said.

The waiter came back around and refilled their drinks.

"Would you like to order anything else today?" The waiter asked them.

Micky and Selene were both full and didn't want anything.

"No, we'll have the check now." Micky said to the waiter.

"Right away, Mr. Dolenz." The waiter said as he went to get the check.

"Micky, I think you oughta talk to him and see if he would like an autograph. He's been awfully patient and hasn't bugged us at all while we've been here." Selene suggested.

The waiter came back with the check and placed it face down on the table. "Thank you for stopping by, I hope you've enjoyed your meal. It's been my pleasure to serve you, Mr. Dolenz" The waiter said as he turned to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute." Micky said to the waiter as he left. The waiter turned around. "Yes?" He said.

"I can tell that you wanted to talk to me. It's ok. I'm willing to take some time to talk to you since you provided excellent service and didn't bother us while we were eating." Micky said.

The waiter walked back over to the table where Micky and Selene were sitting and talked with Micky briefly. Micky signed an autograph on a napkin for him and then was on his way.

"That went well." Micky said. "You know, I don't mind talking to fans at all. I just don't like to be in the public eye all the time. Sometimes I like a little privacy."

"I know." Selene said. "I just thought that he deserved that since he seemed to respect you enough to let us eat in peace."

It was now nearly 2:30 in the afternoon. Selene and Micky decided that they'd walk around on the boardwalk for a bit and visit some of the shops and maybe pick up some tourist things while they were at it to commemorate the trip.

As Micky and Selene strolled down the boardwalk, Micky saw it. He saw the rock that was in his dream about Selene. It jutted out over the ocean with the waves crashing into the bottom every few seconds. The sky painted a background behind it which in the evening would be fiery and full of neon colors against the sunset sky. Somehow, Micky felt compelled to go there while he was on the trip. He made a mental note of its location. He wasn't sure what he would do there but he wanted to at least go there with Selene.

After a few hours out on the boardwalk, Micky and Selene returned to the condo to look at all the things they'd bought from the shops they had visited.

At one point, Micky had went into another shop without Selene. He had left her looking at some key chains in another store. She didn't pay much attention to that at the time and just joined him again later.

"I have something for you." Micky said. By this time, he was sitting on the sofa rather than in his chair and motioned for Selene to join him.

"What do you have for me?" She asked him, eager to see what it was that he had for her this time. She enjoyed all of the gifts he had given her so far. He had romantic tendencies and she liked that.

"Well, I went to a store today that makes things. I took this and had it made into a necklace that I'd like for you to wear tonight." He said as he handed her a box.

Selene smiled and took the box in her hands then removed the lid. This revealed the sand dollar that Micky had picked up out of the ocean earlier. He had the thing made into a necklace. It was strung on hemp and had some additional sea shell beads to dress it up a bit. Whenever she saw the necklace she took the necklace out of the box and held it up against herself.

"This is beautiful, Micky!" She said. "Thank you! I love this!" She said.

"I'm glad you like it, love." Micky said. "Turn around and let me help you put it on." He said, taking the necklace from her.

Selene turned around, Micky moved her hair out of the way and tied the necklace around her neck then put her hair back.

"It looks great." Micky said.

Selene leaned over into him and wrapped her arms around him pressing him into the corner of the couch and then the two shared a romantic kiss.

"This means so much to me, Micky. I mean you got this for me from the bottom of the ocean and that's a step toward progress for you. I mean you were able to do it. I'll always keep it as a reminder of the day you were able to regain some movement. It will be a reminder of a new start for us." She said as she held it between her fingers.

"I know, love. I know." Micky said. "I'm kind of wanting to try out that Jacuzzi later tonight." Micky said. "Would you be up for that?" He asked.

"You know I would!" Selene said.

"Then it's a date?" Micky said back to her, smiling.

"Yep!" Selene replied.

"I'm going to go change my clothes and do my makeup and hair for later whenever we go to the Blue Chateau." Selene said as she left the couch and began to walk off to the bedroom where her things were.

Micky said to Selene as she left the room "You don't need any makeup, you're beautiful as it is. Too beautiful for someone like me." He added.

Selene put on a knee length wrap around skirt with a Hawaiian print on it and a slit up the side that went all the way up to mid thigh but at the same time wasn't horribly revealing. Just enough to be sexy and a solid black spaghetti strap tank top. She would wear black sandals with the outfit. Whenever she came out of the bathroom 20 minutes later she had gathered her hair mostly on top of her head allowing only a few pieces to hang loosely. She had pierced the bun with two chopsticks. Two curls framed her face.

Micky was clicking through some channels on the TV whenever Selene came out. Micky turned his head to look at her and immediately the TV remote dropped out of his hand and hit the couch beside him.

"You...You look stunning!" Micky said.

"Thanks. I did it all for you. I wanted to look stunning for you." Selene said.

"Now I wonder what I will wear tonight?" He said aloud as if to tease her about it.

"I don't know but you should figure it out." she said with a wink.

Micky had packed a pair of blue jeans, the one that were snug fitting, a complimentary western print shirt, and his brown suede dress jacket along with brown cowboy boots. He knew the western look was appealing to Selene and she especially liked it on him. He didn't neglect his hair. He had worn it down most of the afternoon but for tonight, he would slick it back and put it in a ponytail.

Micky came out and was stunning as usual in Selene's eyes.

"Nice, Micky. You look real nice." She said to him.

Micky motioned for her to come over to him and held out his hand to take Selene's hand. "Tonight, I'm going to take you on a date." Micky said, kissing her hand.

Selene didn't know what to make of this but agreed and with that the two of them left the condo.

A white Limousine waited for them in the parking lot.

"Micky! You didn't! Selene said, excited.

"I did!" He said as the chauffeur opened the door for Selene. Micky followed her, the chauffeur taking the chair around to the trunk for him after he maneuvered into the vehicle.

Inside the limo, there were two flute glasses and two glass bottles of Coke. It seemed that Micky was really hung up on this thing that Selene only liked Coke but that was ok. She really didn't like alcoholic drinks all that much and the thought was sincere.

Just when the Chauffeur returned to the driver's seat of the limo, he put down the divider between the front and back of the car. "I am Kendall Covington and I'll be your chauffeur for the evening. Please let me know if there's anything I can do." He said before closing up the divider.

"I can't believe you done all this for us." Selene said to Micky. "It's so nice! I feel like a celebrity tonight!" She said.

"You look like one too." Micky said as he smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders.

Selene kissed Micky on the lips then toasted with him.

"To us." She said as she held up the glass of coke.

Micky toasted then drank his glass of coke.

"You know, this stuff's pretty good. I haven't enjoyed one in a while." He said. "Years ago, I was in this movie and there was a scene where I had to beat up a Coke machine. You know, I broke my hand doing that scene." He told her as the limo cruised down the busy road to its destination.

After a 15 minutes the limo pulled up to the door of the Blue Chateau, Kendall opened the door and had Micky's chair ready for him, Selene followed out of the car and the two of them entered the Blue Chateau. It was a classy place. Selene had never really seen such a classy kind of place before except from the outside. She had never been on a date to a place like this.

"After you." Micky said as he held the door for Selene.

She walked into the place followed by Micky and approached the host. Micky quickly moved in front of her to talk to the host and informed them that they had a private reservation.

They were quickly taken to a private area of the restaurant and seated at a table for two. There was an elegant blue table cloth on the table along with cloth napkins, champagne flutes and a candle.

"I know you don't like wine at all so I had them order up a bottle of their best Coke from the Coca Cola bottling company special for this occasion." Micky said as a waiter brought the bottle out on ice. It was a large glass bottle of Coke on ice that was placed beside the table.

"What else did you think of tonight?" Selene asked Micky.

"Lots of things!" He said with a sly look on his face.

He could barely tolerate looking at her in that spaghetti strap top that she was wearing. He wanted to be all over her right now. She drove him crazy like no other woman had ever done before. The only thing keeping him off of her was the thought of what it would really be like lingering in the back of his mind. His personal care issues, physical abilities-or lack thereof and the possibility of not being able to perform as he would like to in the bedroom. It had the potential to be a disaster.

Once their orders were taken, they were once again left alone at the table. A few minutes later, with a wave of his hand in a somewhat odd gesture, Micky summoned a violin player to the table, tipped him and then held out his hand to Selene.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

"You can have them all!" Selene said, taking his hand and walking out away from the table into the room.

Micky gestured for her to sit on his lap.

Selene perched herself on Micky's lap, put one arm around his neck and the other on his shoulder while he had one arm around her waist and the other hand on the wheelchair and was lightly moving it in a dancing motion.

"You're handsome tonight, Mr. Dolenz." She said into his ear.

"You're beautiful every night, Ms. McHannoy." Micky said back to her with a tinge of seduction that she felt whenever his warm breath entered her ear. She leaned closer to him allowing his face to be very close to her breasts. Once the song concluded, Micky, with Selene still perched on his lap, rolled back to the table stopping to allow her to get off his lap and return to her chair before he went back to his place.

"Thank you for that." Micky said, looking up at her over his glass.

Selene smiled at him. "Thank you for this." She said. indicating everything around them.

Micky found his left hand in his lap under the table and noticed the bulge that had formed in his pants coming to the realization that while he had no sensation below the waist, apparently something was still working down there.

Their food came out shortly afterward and was exquisite.

"I ordered a special desert for us." Micky told Selene after they had finished their main course.

"What'd you get?" She asked.

"Raspberry cheesecake!" Micky said with excitement.

"I love cheesecake!" Selene said.

"I know you do. You served me a slice of it at your place whenever I first met you. It was great!" Micky said.

The cheesecake was brought out to them and was also exquisite.

Once they were back in the limo and on their way home, Micky decided that he was going to see how Selene felt about trying out that Jacuzzi in their room. He had first thought that she might not really go for it but they had been having such a great time that he wanted to ask her to share the Jacuzzi with him.

He'd have to get her worked up to it first. He figured the best way to do this was to get her turned on to him and then ask her. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to resist him the same way that he was having trouble resisting her earlier in the evening.

With that, he leaned over and kissed her first on the cheek then moved toward her mouth planting little tiny kisses all along the way. As if Selene understood what he was doing, she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his kisses. Eventually Micky ended up on top of Selene without really being able to figure out how that happened. Selene kissed Micky and ran her fingers through his hair and down his neck. The two of them continued this until the limo stopped at which point they both composed themselves and waited for Kendall to open the door.

On the way back up to the condo, while in the elevator, Selene jumped on Micky's lap making her skirt go up a little bit more than it should have and began kissing him again. Micky slid his hand up her thigh and underneath the skirt a bit and held her by the hips as she kissed him. Just before the elevator opened up again, she hopped off his lap and puled the skirt back down to where it should be and smiled at him.

Whenever they were back in their room, Micky decided that now was the right time.

"That performance was certainly worth a standing ovation, love!" Micky said as he closed the door behind them.

Selene looked over her shoulder at him and said "I think something probably is standing right now!" She said to him.

He knew what she meant and decided to strike while the iron was still hot.

"Wanna try out the Jacuzzi?" Micky asked her, now close enough to her to take her by the hand.

Selene smiled "I thought you'd never ask!" She said to him.

"Well, why didn't you ask?" Micky said.

"Because I didn't want you to think I was a trollop or something." She said, giggling.

"There's nothing you could do that would make me think that of you." He insisted as he went to get his swim trunks. Selene went to put on her bikini as well. Micky decided that he would remove his personal care items for the time being. He had already determined that he wouldn't have incontinence issues, in fact, his concern was exactly the opposite-unable to empty his bladder. The only reason he used a catheter was in order to prevent a variety of other health issues and complications. He would be fine for a little while before it would become physically necessary to relieve himself again.

The two of them returned to the Jacuzzi which was situated in another room. It was a small one, designed for two people and flush with the floor so that it was sunken in.

"Will you take that thing away in a minute?" Micky asked Selene speaking of the chair.

She didn't answer but was instantly there waiting to remove this item from the room. She knew that sometimes Micky liked to pretend it didn't exist.

Whenever she returned, Micky had lowered himself into the hot tub. He was wearing nothing but the swim trunks. He had also turned off the overhead lighting and switched on the ambient lighting that was installed around the Jacuzzi. It was just dimmer than the overhead lighting and also lit the inside of the hot tub. Selene crawled into the hot tub, carefully lowering herself into the thing and at the same time getting used to the temperature but gradually came all the way in.

Micky couldn't wait to get his hands on her. Just knowing that he had temporarily rid himself of any personal care items and the wheelchair made him feel like more of a man and less of a broken down cowboy.

That bikini that she wore was once again driving him wild. Micky moved from across the hot tub into a position of being beside Selene and having her in his arms. In water, he could move a lot easier.

It wasn't until this point that Selene noticed that he seemed to have toned up quite a bit through his arms and chest. She wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed it before, maybe because she hadn't been up against his hare body like this but she liked it.

Micky was tossing around another idea in his head but he didn't know how this one would come off. He wanted Selene badly just then and he knew that she wasn't the type of girl to put out before the wedding. He tossed around the idea of getting her to elope with him and then having a ceremony at a later date with the big wedding he promised Selene but quickly put a damper on that thought knowing that it just wouldn't be the same for her.

"What are you thinking about?" Selene asked Micky. He had clearly zoned out in his own thoughts.

"Just about weddings...I mean, going to look for stuff. Maybe we can do that tomorrow." He said to her.

"That sounds good." Selene told him

Wanting to pick up where they left off in the elevator, Selene moved in for another kiss on the mouth. Micky embraced her tightly for this one, wrapping his arms around her thin waist. Selene dropped one hand from around his neck and ran her fingers down his back stopping at his waist and for good measure, pulled his swim trunks out a little bit causing the elastic in the waist band to snap back against his stomach. She knew he could feel that. It wasn't far enough down to where he couldn't feel it.

He kissed her more passionately with that and restrained himself from untying the bikini top. He didn't want to do anything at all that might make her feel uneasy. As far as he was concerned, she could do anything to him that she wanted right now and he was ok with letting her lead the way in that respect.

Once again, he felt a tug at his swim trunks, this time near the front. It was at that point, he felt a hand slithering down his stomach and beyond the waistband of the shorts. Something made him grab Selene's hand before it went too low. He grabbed it with such force that Selene suddenly stopped kissing him.

"Ouch!" She said as she jerked her hand up out of the water.

"I'm sorry." Micky said as he stumbled to get his bearings. "I'm sorry I hurt you." He said, cuddling her in his arms.

"Why'd you stop me?" She said, sounding slightly disappointed that he had halted what would have been a hand job that she had intended on giving him.

"Because...I thought we were getting too caught up in the moment and I didn't want you to do something that you'd end up regretting later." He said then continued "You said you were a virgin a while back. That tells me that you've never been this far before and I don't want you to go this far and then end up tomorrow morning thinking back on it and wishing you hadn't of done that before we were married. I just know it means a lot to you, that's all." He concluded.

Selene didn't know what to say in response to this. She knew that they were both caught up in the arms of passion and that things had gotten slightly out of control but she was amazed that Micky had stopped her. He could have just let it continue. In fact, she knew a lot of guys who would have taken full advantage of that sort of situation. But Micky, no. He didn't do that. Something could be said for a guy like that.

The silence lasted for a few seconds and Micky felt that he should add something else. "It isn't that I wasn't enjoying it or that I wouldn't have enjoyed it. I just wanted to be sure it's what you wanted to do."

Selene didn't know what else to do. She couldn't believe how compassionate Micky had been toward her especially with all he had been through. She didn't know what else to do and before she knew it, she found herself crying. Not out of any sort of sadness or out of being upset but in gratitude that she had found someone like Micky that she would be able to spend the rest of her life with.

"Selene, honey, please don't cry. It's ok. I don't think any less of you for it." Micky said, thinking that she was perhaps embarrassed with her actions. He kissed her on the head.

'No! It isn't that. I'm just so glad that I have someone like you who cares about me so much!" She said trying to stop crying.

"And I want to be with you so bad!" She added.

Micky took her in his arms holding her head at his chest, cradling her in his arms at this point realizing that she got carried away in the moment but still wanted to be with him. This was very touching for him.

"You can have me." He said to her, quietly as he held her in his arms. "I'm all yours."

After a few minutes of cuddling and allowing Selene to compose herself and gather her thoughts, she leaned back and looked Micky in the eye. Her eyes were still red from crying but she asked him the question that he had been burning to ask her earlier.

"Micky, I don't want to ruin everything you had in mind for this trip but I'd really like to get married."

For a second, Micky couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"What?" He said, still shocked.

"I want to get married before we go back home, Micky." Selene said again, this time slower. She could tell that she had just sent him into a state of mental shock.

"I thought of that too but I didn't want to mess up the wedding that you were expecting after our discussion earlier." Micky said.

And with that he asked her "Selene, will you marry me?"

"Yes! I want to do that before the end of this trip." She said, kissing him.

"Ok, then its settled. We'll find a preacher or something like that and have a wedding. Just you and I." Micky said, pulling her in for a hug.

"Do you wanna go out and buy your wedding dress first?" Micky asked.

"Let's save that for the big wedding." Selene said.

"Ok, love."

That night Selene lay awake unable to sleep due to sheer excitement. This time tomorrow, she would presumably be a married woman. Married to Micky nonetheless. She felt great about this. She knew there was some sort of a connection the moment she first laid eyes on him.

Micky was also awake but it wasn't from excitement. That was part of it but the rest of it was that he was beginning to have pain again. He didn't want this to start up again. Not now. Not before his wedding day. He didn't want it to ruin the following day. Tomorrow had to be perfect in every way for Selene but that just couldn't happen if he was having pain on the same level he'd had in the past. If this started again, he wouldn't be able to move in a few hours until the pain subsided and that would most likely take all day. He knew what the truth was. He had probably pushed himself too hard earlier in the day and caused the onset of pain.

Just as he had suspected, as he lay there over the next hour or two, the pain got increasingly worse and finally became near to unbearable once again.

Selene was still lying awake in her room thinking about how perfect the next day was going to be and about how she would be married to Micky when something willed her to get up out of her bed and go take a peek at him. Something just wasn't settled with her. She felt that he needed her.

 _"Better to be safe than sorry."_ She thought to herself as she sat up in bed, rolling the covers back and then walking quietly through the condo.

She tip toed to the next room where Micky was and pushed the door open only enough to see his face. She immediately knew what was wrong and slipped the rest of the way in the room, trying to be quiet so as not to startle him.

He lay on the bed with an arm up over his face. She could hear him crying softly as each pain stabbed at his back.

"Micky." She whispered. No answer. "Micky" She whispered a little louder as she walked closer to the bed.

He only groaned at her in pain.

"It's ok, I'm going to get you something for that." She said as she left the room going to look for the bottle of Ibuprofen that had been packed. She found it and dumped out 4 pills in her hand, putting two of them back into the bottle, stopped by the sink getting a glass of cold water and returned to his room.

She still found him in the same position. She knew that touching him would cause him immense pain but she had to get him to take the pills to lessen the pain.

"Micky, can you move your arm?" She asked him, first giving him the chance to move it himself.

"No, need help." He said through groans of pain.

Selene sat down the items in her hands and proceeded to move Micky's arm grabbing him only by the hand and elbow so as not to drop it. Once the arm was laid by his side, it revealed that his face was twisted in pain and his eyes reddened from the quiet crying he'd been doing for who knows how long.

"You're going to have to sit up a little bit in order to take these." She told Micky as she grabbed the extra pillow from the other side of the bed.

"I'll help you." She said to him as she moved toward him to lift his head and put the pillow behind him. He was in lots of pain but attempted to pull himself upwards into a sitting position so that she didn't have to do all the work. This seemed to exhaust him.

Whenever this happened, Micky became somewhat delirious from the pain.

Selene picked up one of the pills and the glass of water from the night stand once again and told him "I'm going to put a pill in your mouth now." as she parted his lips with her fingers and placed the pill on his tongue. "And here comes some water." She said, only pouring a minimal amount of water into his mouth so that he could swallow the pill. She followed the same procedure with the other pill and then waited there with him on the bed occasionally stroking his hand until a majority of the pain subsided.

"Selene, I'm sorry." Micky said to her after an hour or so, whenever he got to a point that he could speak without being in constant pain.

"Why are you sorry?" She asked.

"I shouldn't have overdone it and caused myself to have this pain. Now I've ruined the wedding." He said.

"No, it's ok. Micky, I don't mind waiting a day or two or we can just get someone to come here and marry us. It doesn't matter to me. Whatever you think you can handle. I just want to be with you." She reassured him.

"Really?" He said. "You're really ok with that?"

"Yes. It's really ok." She answered.

"You should try and get some sleep now. It's almost 3 AM." She suggested.

"Selene." Micky said as she turned to go back to her room. "Thank you for coming in here tonight." He said.

"No problem" She said and smiled at him.

That smile was beautiful to him. He loved seeing it. He also thought she was cute in her pajamas. She had flannel bottoms and a camisole top that revealed a good bit of cleavage.

After being up with Micky for the past few hours, she was finally able to go to bed and nearly instantly fall asleep. For once, she didn't wake at 6 AM. She slept until 8:30. She didn't think much of it at that point, realizing that it was ok to sleep in because she was on vacation and that she had a late night the night before. She went about her morning as normal, getting dressed first thing and then going out to prepare breakfast. She realized at that point that she didn't even need to prepare anything because Micky had ordered that room service package with their room. She only needed to pick up the phone and call to order something. She done just that.

In about 10 minutes breakfast would arrive at their door. For now, she would go take another peek at Micky and see how he was doing.

She once again, cracked open the door to his room and looked in on him. He was still sleeping peacefully. She didn't want to wake him just yet so she stepped back out. She would wait on the food and then wake him in her own special way. This morning, she wanted to kiss him awake.

Whenever the food arrived, she brought the cart into their room and tipped the bell hop. She left the food briefly to go wake Micky.

Whenever she went back into Micky's room he hadn't moved since she had last saw him. She quietly walked over to the edge of his bed and pushed a piece of his hair back away from his face before leaning in to kiss him lightly on the cheek and then on the lips. She kissed him two or three times before he began to kiss back and then eventually woke up.

"Good morning!" She said to Micky as he cracked his eyes open.

"Hey baby." He said quietly, still sleepy.

"I ordered breakfast." Selene told him and then promptly went out to get the cart and bring it into his room.

"I think I'd like to eat at the table this morning." Micky said whenever he saw the cart of food.

"How are you feeling?" Selene asked.

"I've been better but I'm well enough to eat at the table." He said to her.

Once Micky got out of the bed and into his chair, Selene picked his feet up off the floor and sat them on the footrests then pushed him out into the kitchen where she parked him at the table then returned to bring out the breakfast cart.

She uncovered the food on one of the trays which turned out to be a set of pastries for two. The larger tray held the omelets and fruit. There was milk and juice on the side and also smoked salmon with cream cheese and toast. Selene sat the food down on the table in front of Micky first and then her own place. Whenever she sat the pastries down in front of him he reached out and caught her hand.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to a dark bruise on her wrist and on the side of her hand.

Selene didn't say anything for a few minutes after she realized that Micky had done that. She didn't want him to know that he had actually caused a bruise but he'd realize it soon enough so she might as well let him be upset over it now rather than later.

"It's from last night whenever you grabbed my wrist." She admitted.

"Does it hurt?" He asked her.

"Only a little bit whenever something mashes on it." She answered.

His eyes filled with sadness.

"Selene, I'm really sorry. I never meant to do this to you. I hope you know that I would never intentionally hurt you." He explained.

"Micky, it's alright. I know." She said and added "I think last night you were just as caught up in the moment as I was and maybe when you grabbed me you didn't realize your own strength."

Over breakfast, they discussed what they wanted to wear to their wedding. The two of them decided that if they could find a preacher who would do it, they'd be married on the beach and therefore, tentatively decided to wear beach attire. Selene wore the bikini and a wrap around the bottom to look like a skirt while Micky wore the swim trunks and the white tank top shirt.

"I'll call the front desk and see if they know of a preacher around here who will come out to marry us." Selene said.

"Ok, I'm going to go down to the beach and scope out a good place to get married." Micky said as he left Selene alone.

After making a few phone calls, Selene found a preacher who agreed to come down to the beach and marry them for $75.00. She left the room to go down and tell Micky what she had found.

She found Micky on the board walk staring at the large rock that he had spotted earlier in the trip.

"Is that where you want us to get married?" She asked him.

"Yes, it's the perfect place." He said with surety.

"It looks nice enough." She said.

"The preacher said he could be here at 6:30 this afternoon." Selene informed Micky.

"That's perfect. That gives us time to get ourselves ready for the wedding!" Micky said. She could hear the excitement in his voice.

"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding." Micky told Selene. "Why don't we go our separate ways for now and meet up here at 6:20 just before the preacher arrives?" Micky suggested.

"That sounds nice." Selene said and then went on her way.

Selene decided to go shopping for some makeup and a veil. Even though she wasn't going to be wearing a wedding dress, she thought a veil would be a nice finishing touch. She finally found one after searching several shops and in the process managed to match it up with a nice wedding dress that she also purchased to be used at a later date whenever they had their wedding for their friends and family to attend. She had this one bagged. She didn't want Micky to even know that she had bought it. He would be surprised whenever he saw it on her for the first time.

Micky on the other hand, had went shopping for a wedding band. He wanted something nice to go with the nice ring he had bought her in Pennsylvania. He finally found a white gold band that he had engraved with the date and their names on the inside. It was simple but he really liked it and he knew that Selene would like it too. In addition to this, he also went to a local flower shop and had a bouquet of flowers arranged specifically for Selene to have during their wedding ceremony. It consisted of tropical flowers and various other exotic flowers trimmed in white ribbons and all tied together in a tight arrangement. It was not overly large. She would still be able to carry it in one hand. He had also made another stop at a medical equipment supply store and purchased himself another set of leg irons to wear. He wanted to be standing up whenever he got married and he was going to do it come hell or high water. He realized in doing this that he should probably change his clothes so the braces wouldn't be so obvious. Also at the store, he purchased a cane which was really a black walking stick much like something one would carry at a formal event. He could also make use of that later on.

That evening, Selene had returned to the condo after shopping all day around the area. She wanted to apply her makeup and get ready for her wedding.

Micky came in later in the day and realized that she was shut in the bathroom at that point. They only had about an hour before they had to meet the preacher.

"Selene, I'm back." Micky said, realizing that she didn't want him to see her until the wedding.

"Ok, Just don't come in here!" She said. He could hear the excitement in her voice.

"Don't worry, love, I'm not. I'm just going to go in the bedroom and clean myself up and then I'll meet the preacher downstairs. I'll take him to where we're getting married and then you cam come along when you're ready." He said to her then went into his room.

Once he was in his room, he decided to wear the blue jeans that he had worn the other day with a short sleeved polo shirt and a hat. He had even purchased some cologne earlier in the day that he splashed on. Before putting the pants on, he put on the leg braces. These were relatively easy to switch from locking to unlocking and he could do it through his pants which meant that he could sit in the chair until he needed to get up which would happen just before Selene came out. He would take the cane with him for extra support. He didn't anticipate that the wedding would take too long at all but he just wanted to make sure that nothing went wrong.

Before he left the condo, he told Selene that he was gone and that it was ok for her to come out since there was no threat of him seeing her prior to the wedding.

Micky waited in a lobby area for the preacher to arrive and finally managed to hook up with him. He led him to the area where the wedding ceremony was to take place and explained to him how he was going to be standing up for the ceremony. From that point, they waited for Selene to come out.

Selene had gotten herself ready and come out of the bathroom. Micky had left a note on the table with the flowers.

 _"Selene, I thought you might like some flowers to carry for our wedding this evening so please take these as a token of my love. Yours always, Micky."_

This made Selene happy. She took the flowers and took one last quick look at herself in the mirror before grabbing the wedding band she had bought for Micky earlier in the day and leaving for the spot that she and Micky had picked earlier.

Micky could actually see the exit onto the beach from the condo they were staying in so he was watching for her to come out. He wanted to be already standing up whenever she arrived and didn't want to have to fumble too much with the braces after she got there. Once he saw her, he locked the braces and the preacher assisted him until he was standing on his own with the cane. Just to look at him, you wouldn't assume anything other than he was someone who walked with a cane. You wouldn't know the extent of his injuries.

Selene walked down the beach and toward the rock where Micky had specified. She had also brought the camera so that perhaps someone could take a picture or two of their wedding. She would have many more pictures of their second second wedding but she wanted to remember this one because it was special.


	19. Chapter 19

The Man Next Door

As Selene approached the rock, she could see two silhouetted figures on the flat part of the rock that jutted out over the ocean. As she walked closer, she realized that one of those two men happened to be Micky and he was standing up!

Rather than make a big deal out of it just then, Selene continued walking toward Micky. She knew that this was somehow part of his plan for their wedding and she knew that this would be the start of a new beginning for both of them.

She looked beautiful as the gentle wind played upon her hair and made the wrap flow with the breeze revealing her legs. Micky smiled at her as she walked toward him. For him, life just went into slow motion right there and he was savoring every minute of it. Things were perfect. He was standing on his own two feet, he no longer felt like a broken man and Selene was heading his direction to become his wife in just a few moments.

"You're standing up!" She said to him whenever she got close enough to him so that he would hear her.

"Yes. It was the least I could do for you." He said to her, leaning on the cane for support.

Not wanting an explanation just yet, she didn't ask him how or why.

"Shall we begin?" The preacher asked them.

They both nodded, smiling at each other. Micky took her hand in his free hand and the preacher began with the wedding vows. The wedding was very standard and basic. Whenever they exchanged rings, the preacher snapped a picture of them and also whenever Micky kissed his bride, Selene. Afterward the preacher snapped several more pictures of them against the fiery orange sunset sky that was behind them.

Micky passionately and deeply kissed his wife under the sunset holding her around the waist with one arm and holding the cane with the other hand.

"We're married now." He said to her as he backed away from the kiss.

"Yes, we are. Forever." She said to him kissing him once again on the mouth.

"And you're still standing." She noted, looking down at Micky's legs.

He smiled and said 'It's amazing what modern equipment can do for a man."

After she had marveled at the fact that he was standing there, she realized that he had only been standing, not walking around and realized that he would probably need to get back in the chair again before returning to the hotel room.

"Need some help?" She asked him.

Grateful that she had ask, he gladly accepted. Although he hadn't realized it before, he had actually become quite tired and fatigued standing there.

"I need you to lower me back into that chair. My legs won't bend until you unlock the braces but you probably won't be able to hold my full body weight so we're going to just make sure I land in the chair and unlock the braces after I'm sitting.

"Ok" Selene said and placed her hands on Micky's shoulders so that she could guide him into the chair knowing that once he began to go down, there'd be no stopping him and he had better make sure that he hit the chair squarely in the middle.

"Ok, I'm ready." He said.

"The chair's lined up and right behind you." Selene told him.

Micky knew that he could trust Selene and didn't give it a second thought or even look to see where he was falling. Selene curled her fingers around his shoulders and provided some resistance for him so that he didn't hit too hard. In fact, his landing was rather soft.

"Ok, now we just unlock those things." He said pulling up his pants leg revealing the unlocking mechanism and tripping it. This was repeated on the other side at which point Selene sat his feet up on the foot rests and readjusted his jeans pulling them back down to hide the braces. Micky thanked the preacher and the three of them left the rock. Micky and Selene returned to their room to celebrate their marriage in private.

Just before they entered the condo, Micky said "Wait a minute" and caught Selene's hand, pulling her down onto his lap. He carried her across the threshold.

"Can't be letting you cross the threshold for the first time as a married woman like that. Bad luck." He said and chuckled.

Selene sat on his lap and kissed her husband a few more times before she decided that they should be doing other things.

"Let's go get out of these clothes." Selene suggested to Micky. Micky agreed. He also wanted to take off the leg braces and lose the cane as well. As much as he liked being able to stand up for those few minutes it took to get married, he didn't like having to use all the extra equipment to make himself be able to stand.

Selene came into Micky's room. He was still taking things off but had mostly undressed. She leaned against the door frame. She was nude except for a very thin beach wrap that she draped over herself as if to tease him. Her skin was soft and flawless, her stomach was near perfect and her breasts were naturally perky. Micky had seriously underestimated Selene and he now realized this. He hadn't realized how beautiful she was. Maybe it wasn't physical beauty that attracted him so much at first. Maybe it was the inner beauty and innocence that he was attracted to.

Micky had managed to remove his shoes and pants but not his underwear and shirt at this point. Selene didn't care.

"Could I help you with that?" She said in a sensual tone of voice as she approached him.

Micky drew a blank for a few seconds and then answered "Please do."

Selene pointed to the bed indicating for him to move there. Once he was there, she crawled on top of him and ripped open the shirt he was wearing revealing his chest. Thankfully it was a snap up shirt and she didn't actually damage it. Micky wouldn't have cared if there was nothing left of him or the shirt after her.

She peeled the shirt off him and pushed it down his arms removing it. She then moved on to bigger-much bigger- and better things. She was down to his underwear now. He had been wearing boxers.

"Selene there's something we ought to talk about" Micky interrupted suddenly. Selene's eyes met his. "It's this thing..." Micky said, indicating the catheter and collection bag that was strapped to his leg.

Selene knew in the back of her mind that he used one but she hadn't mentioned it once or made any kind of an issue out of it.

"Don't worry about it Micky" She said, stopping briefly to remove his boxers and then his catheter all in a few quick actions.

Micky was thrilled that she hadn't found him unattractive and that she had continued with what she was about to do to him.

Micky felt her go down on him. His emotions were so strong that he could physically feel the emotion...or was he actually feeling again? He wasn't sure.

"Can you feel that?" Selene said after a few moments of sex for the first time.

"Yes, yes, I can!" Micky said. He only wished that he were able to be the one on top and the one pleasuring her like there was no tomorrow. Micky glanced down and realized that she had taken him completely inside of herself, apparently he was erect and she was enjoying herself.

Selene smiled at him and continued.

Micky kissed her breasts several times, doing what he could to pleasure her.

The two of them continued to make love for a while experimenting with several different positions after which point, they both agreed that they were worn out and needed showers.

After their shower, they were feeling somewhat restless and decided that a late night walk on the beach would be the thing to do.

It was now after 11 PM so mostly everyone had left the beach. Micky and Selene went together down the beach and ended up back at the rock where they were married.

"Wanna hang out here for a while and look at the stars?" Micky asked.

"Sounds fun!" Selene said.

They went up onto the rock once again. Micky slipped out of his chair onto the surface of the rock. Selene sat down with him. After 5 or 10 minutes, they both saw a shooting star.

"Make a wish!" Selene said as the shooting star disappeared into the night sky.

They both knew without saying what the wish was. It was for Micky to recover.

Micky began to make sexual comments to her after a bit. She continued the game right back until they ended up making love once again on the rock on the beach. This was just like it was in Micky's dream a few weeks ago. He was enjoying every moment of it so intensely. He still hadn't grasped the reality of it yet. Selene was now his and they would be together forever. He could have her all the time now. She was his.

The next morning, they woke up a tangled mess in the bed at the condo. They had put on quite the escapade the night before and were both still feeling slightly invigorated from it yet tired. Today was their last day at the beach before they'd have to go home.

Selene opened her eyes and for a split second wondered where she was and who was in her bed but came to realize that it was Micky and it was ok. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment then turned her head, feeling as though she were being watched. Micky was in fact, watching her. He had been watching her sleep.

"Good morning, Mrs. Dolenz!" He said softly with a smile.

She kissed him and said "Good morning." back to him.

"Thanks for showing me such a wonderful time this past week." She told him.

"I've been wanting to do something like that for a while. Thanks for marrying me this past week darling!" He said. "I never expected to take you on a vacation and a date and then come back a married man."

"I'm glad we got married." Selene said.

"Me too." Micky replied.

Selene and Micky spend the rest of the day on the beach picking up shells, swimming and building a sand castle. The next morning, they had to be out of the condo by 10 AM.

Once they were back on the road home, Micky said something rather interesting. "What would you think about us building our own house and selling the ones we own now?"

"Well, I would think that'd be alright but why do you want to do that? You just bought a house and moved into it." Selene asked.

"I just thought it would be nice to have something that we can call ours...and something that would be a little more accessible to me." He added, not really wanting to make it about him.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. I think you're going to recover but I don't know how long or to what extent so that would be a really good idea to keep in mind." She agreed.

Once they were back at their houses, Selene moved a few of her things to Micky's house so that she could live there with him. If she needed anything else, she'd just go next door and fetch it.

Micky once again carried her over the threshold of his door for good luck.

"How many times do we do this?" She asked laughing but embracing what he was doing.

"As many times as it takes!" He said. "One day maybe I'll really be able to carry you across the threshold."

They had told no one that they were married. They had both agreed that they wanted to have a wedding and wanted to let everyone else know that way. It would be like the first time again.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Micky's pain seemed to come and go more frequently. Selene was assisting him with physical therapy that had been recommended by his doctor but it only seemed to cause him immense pain afterward.

One day in particular, Micky was experiencing quite a bit more pain than usual caused from the therapy he was undergoing. Selene could see this and had often wondered whether or not he wanted to be doing this to himself considering he wasn't seeing much of a change in his condition.

"Micky, are you ok?" She asked on one such day.

"I think I'll be OK." He answered.

"I'm not trying to discourage you or anything but I need to know from you if your heart is still in this whole therapy thing. Do you still want to continue doing it or what?" She asked.

"Selene, I've often thought about giving up on it but every time I think about that, I feel like if I do, I'd be giving up on you too. I don't ever want to do that. You've been with me so much along the way and urged me to continue this for myself and us. I just want to do that because I really believe now that one day I will be able to do a little bit more than I can right now." He explained to her.

"Ok, then I'm with you on that. I'll be here for support." She agreed.

Two months after the wedding, Selene had managed to sell her house and move all of her things into Micky's house. They were currently having a house built a little further north of where they were to their specifications that would be ready in a few months. Selene and Micky had been having sex that morning. Selene had left to go to the bathroom leaving Micky alone. All of a sudden, she heard him screaming her name like she had never heard anyone scream before.

"Selene! Oh my god, Selene come in here now!" Micky screamed.

The sheer tone of Micky's voice sent chills down her spine. She wondered for a second what on earth had happened to him and if she had caused it.

No sooner had the words departed from his mouth, Selene came running. She didn't know what to think and thought something was dreadfully wrong with her husband.

"What 's going on?!" She asked, somewhat frightened but attempting to remain composed until she realized what Micky had been screaming about.

Whenever she walked in the room, she saw Micky sitting up on the bed. He had suddenly regained some movement in his legs and bad been able to bend and unbend his knee marginally and also move side to side more than what he had been able to do in the past.

"Micky, you're moving your legs!" She said as she rushed over to the bed and touched them as he moved them around. She stopped as quickly as she had started.

"Why do you look like you're in pain right now?" She asked him, noticing the look of pain in his eyes as tears nearly came out.

"Because it hurts like hell but I can move them!" He said, now beginning to cry tears of joy rather than pain. "I can move them!"

"Ok, we should probably call the doctor and see if he says to do anything different." Selene said.

Micky fell back on the bed, now a bit exhausted from all the pain that he had caused himself but overall happy about the whole situation. He was starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel now. He was going to move toward it.

Selene knew that Micky had a scheduled follow up appointment with his doctor the next morning.

"Micky, we gotta figure out what's going on with you and see if the doctor can help you." She suggested to him as he lay on the bed.

"Ok, we can ask him. I'll talk with him about it tomorrow. I just can't believe it's happening!" He said, still showing excitement and still not seeming to care about the pain as much as he had in the past.

Selene liked seeing this sort of happiness from him that had been somewhat rare over the past little while before they were married.

"Are you gonna be alright here by yourself for a little while?" Selene asked him.

"Yeah, why? You need to go somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was gonna go down to the farmer's market and buy some fresh produce and maybe stop by the grocery store. Oh, and I should probably stop by the newspaper office as well and see if they have anything that I can cover coming up." She explained.

"I think I might take the Beretta today. It hasn't been driven in a while." She said.

"Ok, be careful, love-and take my cell phone with you." Micky said as Selene pulled the keys to the Chevy out of her purse.

"I should be back in a couple of hours." She said.

With that, she walked over to her house and plopped herself into the well used seats of the Chevy and left.

It was about 20 minutes to the farmer's market from where she lived. There was also a scenic route that she was contemplating taking on her way back that would make her drive double in length but it would provide some relaxation for her in the process. She enjoyed driving the Chevy on a two lane black top.

Once she finished her shopping at the grocery store and the farmer's market she did in fact take the scenic route back toward the newspaper office. This particular rode was slightly curvy and at points, quite a steep grade. As Selene's Chevy climbed the hill, she noticed something else climbing as well-the temperature gauge on the dash. It seemed to be running slightly hotter than usual but it hadn't hit the red line as of yet. She decided to keep going and just keep an eye on it. The car had been known in the past to run hotter than normal on this kind of road anyway. After a few minutes, the red light on the dash did turn on indicating that the engine temperature was too hot.

"Dammit!" Selene said aloud. "This is just what I need right now!" as she pulled the car over to a wide gravel spot on the side of the road.

"There's nowhere nearby either..." She mumbled. Just then, she smelled something awful followed by a plume of white smoke that rose up from beneath the hood of the black Chevy. She jumped out of the car, not knowing what was going on and expecting the car to burst into flames any second. She did manage to grab her purse which held Micky's cellular phone on her way out.

Once she was a safe distance away from the car and after watching it for a few moments and seeing that it apparently wasn't going to burn to the ground, she decided that she would approach it and pop the hood to see what she could find. She knew that she probably wouldn't be able to rig it or do anything else to it in order to make it get her home but she figured she'd give it a try before she called Micky. She didn't want to call Micky nor did she know how he would get her home short of calling a cab to her location to bring her back home and getting the car towed at a later time.

As she approached the car again, she recognized the awful smell as coolant that she could now see that had spilled onto the road under the front end of the car. Whenever she popped the hood, she noticed one thing right away. The engine was covered in liquid and reeked of coolant! She could see clearly that the main radiator hose right there on the top of everything had ruptured. This was no minor rupture that could be fixed easily. The entire hose would have to be replaced to fix this one. She didn't have a hose, nor did she really know how to properly fix it.

"I guess I'll have to call Micky..." She said, pulling the cell phone from her purse. The phone wasn't getting great signal at her current location so she walked a bit down the road, watching the phone for signal. Whenever she noticed that it had a bar of signal, she made her call to Micky.

Micky had dozed off in front of the television while Selene had been gone. Thankfully he hadn't transferred from his chair into the recliner just assuming that she'd be back later. The phone rang and woke him around the third ring. He fumbled for the cordless phone and finally answered it.

"Micky, the car's quit and I think it needs to be towed!" Selene said to him. He could hear the urgency in her voice.

"Calm down honey. It'll be ok. Where are you?" He asked.

"I took the back way home and the car quit up here on the scenic route." She said then continued "I should have never taken this car on a drive like this, I'm sorry, Micky." She said, seeming to become slightly upset with herself and she was letting it show in the phone call.

"Baby, it's ok. I'll take care of it. Just go back and wait with your car." He directed her.

"Ok, love you." She said as she ended the phone call.

She walked back to the car, put the hood back down so as not to draw the attention of any passers by. The last thing she wanted was some dirty old man stopping to assist her on the side of the road. She got back inside the car and turned the switch on to listen to the radio until someone came for her.

Micky decided right then and there that this was the time for him to step up to the plate and show what he was made of. He was dead set on going to Selene's rescue himself. He decided that he would attempt driving the Mercedes. It was pretty easy to handle and he could make his foot stay on the gas. He'd downshift in order to maintain a safe speed and he'd take his cane with him to poke the brake pedal if things got too out of hand.

It was too time consuming for Micky to get into the car himself and work with the wheelchair so that it would also go into the car. Instead he left it sitting in the driveway beside of where the car was parked. Once he was sitting in the car, he practice moved his legs as much as he could in order to see what he was capable of doing. So far he had managed enough movement to get his foot on the accelerator and his other foot on the brake, even.

He started the car and put it in reverse allowing it to just roll out of the driveway as he held his foot on the brake. So far things were working pretty well. His reaction time wouldn't be so great but he knew that he would have to make this work.

Once he was out of the driveway, he put the car in drive and began moving down the road toward the scenic route that he knew Selene had taken on her way back home.

By now, Micky was feeling extremely pleased with his efforts. He was actually driving the car for the first time since his accident. Not smoothly by any means but it was working for him. He wasn't in heavy traffic so he wasn't too concerned about that since he would be on the back roads. He realized one thing in a hurry. He would have to get Selene to drive him back home because he was gradually causing himself pain moving around like this.

After 30 minutes of driving, Micky saw the Beretta up ahead. He was in so much pain by this time that the pitiful site of the Chevy and its spilled coolant was a glimpse of Heaven for him.

Selene was not at all expecting Micky to come to get her himself but whenever she saw the Mercedes, she wondered what exactly was going on.

"What the hell?" She said to herself aloud whenever she saw it.

She got out of the Chevy to take a better look at the vehicle that seemed to be slowly approaching her.

"Oh my gosh, that IS Micky and he's driving the car!" She said. He continued until he got closer. The pain burned in his legs and back.

Selene ran up beside the car to the open window on the driver side "Micky, what do you think you're..." She stopped, realizing that he was in extreme pain once again. He shoved the car up into park and fell back against the seat.

"Micky, you shouldn't have driven the car out here!" She scolded lightly as she placed her hand on his which was still on the steering wheel.

"Micky, let's get you in the other side of the car and back home so you can rest." Selene suggested.

"I-I don't know if I can move." He said in a whiny voice that indicated a great deal of pain.

"Yes, you can." Selene said. "I'll help you." She added.

Selene went around to the passenger side of the Mercedes, hopped in, dropped the top to give herself some more head room and proceeded to try and move Micky herself.

"You're gonna have to help me" She said to him as she continued to lift him out of the bucket seat and across the center console.

She eventually got him over the center console and managed to sit him into the passenger seat at which point she then moved his feet over to that side of the car. Micky winced in pain. Selene didn't like causing him this pain but she knew what had to be done. She operated at this point off the mentality that Micky knew that if he moved and over done it, he would be in pain and he should have known better. She drew strength from that thought which enabled her to move him the way she had. Thank "God for leather seats" Selene said as she meticulously positioned Micky's legs in as comfortable of a position as she could and untwisted his clothing so that there were no wrinkles pressing into his skin anywhere.

She went around to the other side of the car and hopped in. Before she moved the car, she pulled the passenger side seat belt around Micky and locked it in place.

"You've gotta wear your seat belt." She said as she pulled the car into drive once again and drove up to her Chevy to transfer the items she had purchased into the Mercedes. She locked up the Beretta, stuck the keys in the gas door and figured that she would call and have it towed whenever she got home.

"Micky, are you alright?" Selene said to him as she drove back toward his house.

"Yeah, still hurting but I think I'll be OK." He answered.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Selene said, keeping her eyes trained on the road in front of her. Micky could see that she really felt as though she had done something wrong and needed some comforting.

"No love. It isn't your fault. This stuff happens whenever the car's that old. You probably just need some new hoses and coolant and it'll be good as new!" He said trying to make it ok.

"You're not ok. I caused you pain." She said, this time a tear fell down her cheek out of the corner of her eye that she was unable to hold back.

Micky reached over and brushed that tear away with the back of his hand. "Selene, You didn't make me do anything. I came for you because I decided to do that. I made my own decision to do that. I knew that it would cause me pain but I wanted to do it." He explained. "...and besides that, it would have been just as easy for me to call some grizzly creepy tow truck driver to come out and get you and the car. I didn't want that."

The two of them talked about this the rest of the way home. Whenever they arrived in the driveway, Micky was reminded of the wheelchair he had left there. It was still where he left it.

Selene saw it too. She backed the car in the driveway putting the passenger side of the car on the same side where the wheelchair was located.

"Smart one!" Micky said, smiling at her.

He managed to move himself from the car into the chair but not without pain. He was still in pain. Moving made it worse but it seemed to have improved from earlier.

"Can I help you carry anything in?" Micky asked as Selene pulled things out of the trunk of the car one after the other and loaded up her arms with stuff.

"Sure." She said.

Micky came over to her. "Load me up!" He said holding his arms out.

Selene didn't want to load him up too much so she sat a smaller bag on his lap just to keep him happy and give him the sense that he was doing something to be helpful. Any other time she wouldn't have cared what he carried in but he was still in pain and she didn't want to worsen that.

The two of them went inside and proceeded to put away the groceries.

"I'll call and have someone go pick up your car, love." Micky said to Selene as she continued to organize the cabinets.

"Don't bother. I've got insurance that covers that." She said. "I'll just call them after while and let them know about it." She added.

"Ok, sounds good. Do they make you tow it to a garage in order for them to pay for it or anything or can you just have it towed back here?" He asked.

"I think I can have it towed here." She told him

"Ok, good, because I think I can probably fix it." He offered.

Selene didn't know what to think. She'd never seen anyone in a wheelchair work on a car before but if he wanted to try it, she wasn't willing that he shouldn't do it. In fact, she thought it'd be really good for him since this was something that he might usually have done before the injury.

Micky went to the phone and made a call to someone he apparently knew and detailed them on the location of the car, make model and description with instructions to deliver it to his driveway before the end of the day.

Sure enough, within two hours, the Beretta was delivered to Micky's house.

"It's getting kind of late tonight, I'll take a look at it tomorrow." Micky told Selene as he poked the fork at his broccoli pushing it through some cheese sauce that remained on his plate.

"Micky, really, you don't have to worry about it." Selene reassured him.

Selene caught Micky looking at her with that quirky signature Micky look in between eating his food. "What?" She asked, knowing good and well that he was admiring her and probably wanted to have a little fun after dinner. She wasn't opposed to this at all.

"I was just thinking that it'd be kind of fun for us to take a bath together. I enjoyed that Jacuzzi at the condo a lot. I don't have any air jets or anything but I do have a big tub upstairs." Micky told her.

"No air jets?" Selene said giggling. "That's ok, with all that broccoli you just ate, you can make your own in no time." She added.

Micky just about blew his drink out his nose whenever she said this as he laughed at her remark. He hadn't laughed this hard in a really long time.

"So, what are your plans for getting upstairs?" Selene asked a bit later after the humor had passed, not wanting to completely discount the idea just because the needed bathtub was on the second floor.

Micky hadn't thought about that. "Well..." He said trailing off and beginning to think about it. "Maybe I could crawl up the stairs or something." He suggested and then laughed at his own idea then on second thought, he considered that more seriously. He hadn't had any trouble moving around on the beach so it was worth a try.

"It might cause you some pain later on, honey" Selene suggested in attempt to coax him out of his well intended idea. "Although it does sound enjoyable!" She added so he wouldn't feel like she wanted nothing to do with him because she wanted _everything_ to do with him and then some.

"But I'll have plenty of pleasure beforehand." He said with a smile.

"Ok, Let's try it and see how it works but if you end up hurting yourself..." Selene stopped.

"Then I'll just get over it, you will make me some tea and things will be good." He said as he moved toward the stairs and then lowered himself out of the chair onto the floor at the foot of the stairs at which point he began to crawl up the stairs carefully lifting his bottom up and sitting on one step at a time. Selene carried the chair to the top of the stairs behind him and had it ready for him to use by the time he arrived at the top of the stairs.

"I could do this for exercise." He said once he reached the top and lifted himself back into the chair, somewhat out of breath and slightly worked out from the experience.

Selene smiled and pushed him into the upstairs master bathroom. This one was large, open and had a nice large bathtub that they could both use at the same time rather easily without being too crowded.

"You know, this is the first time I've been upstairs since the accident..." Micky said to Selene.

"I had nearly forgotten what the upstairs of my own house looked like." He added.

Selene started the bath water and then began to undress in front of Micky. She first pulled off her jeans revealing her black high rise/bikini cut underwear. Micky was glad she didn't wear thongs. He hated that and didn't find it too attractive in the first place. His ex wife had loved thongs for some reason. Next Selene removed her shirt and tossed it in the pile she was creating on the floor immediately to her left. She wasn't attempting to seduce Micky in any way at that point. She didn't realize what she was doing either until she took the time in between removing her underwear, bra and socks to look at Micky's smiling face.

"Are you enjoying this little show, love?" She asked him in a coy tone of voice as though she had intentions of seducing him at this point.

"Oh yes, yes I am!" He said, smiling at her with obvious excitement.

She stopped what she was doing and walked slowly toward him distributing various kisses on his face and neck as she paraded around him scantly dressed. Whenever she walked around behind him, she discreetly removed the bra and panties without him even realizing it and then walked around in front of him and sat on his lap.

"Whoa baby!" Micky said as Selene leaned in toward his face with her plump breasts and cradled his head in her hands against those breasts for a few moments, planting little kisses on him all along the way.

"Mmmmmm..." Micky groaned in pleasure as Selene pulled his face up to hers and locked lips with him.

By this time, Micky had began running his hands up and down her bare body, enjoying every inch of it with his fingertips.

After the kiss, Selene stepped off his lap as easily and daintily as she had mounted him, turned to the tub which was now nearly filled to the point that she wanted. She reached for a bottle that was sitting on the sink and poured some purple liquid into the water. Soon thereafter, bubbles rose up in thick puffy clouds atop the water.

"Hope you like bubble bath!" She said as she sat the bottle back down on the sink. The scent of what smelled like lilac filled the room.

"Bubbles are great!" Micky said, still half recovering from his previous moment with Selene. Somehow, she was capable of sucking every bit of control out of him making him putty in her hands.

Micky wished that he could put on such a show for Selene and make her enjoy him the way she had done but he knew that it would not be of the same caliber as what she had done. He just didn't see how it would be attractive for her to watch him slowly undress, possibly get a leg tangled in his pants and have to work with it to get it out. That just wasn't sexy. He wanted to be sexy. He had to find a way to be equally as sexy. Selene had needs that deserved to be met and he wanted to be the man to rise to the occasion.

Selene stepped down into the tub which was flush with the floor and lowered herself into the hot, bubbly water as Micky watched the bubbles engulf her. He began by pulling off his shirt over his head and tossing it into the pile of clothing that Selene had made. After that, he turned his back to her so she wouldn't have to see the unattractive part of him undressing and wrestling with his pants and his legs which were still unmotivated to move in his assistance. He also removed his personal care necessities conveniently out of her sight. Once he was completely undressed, he turned the chair back around to face her.

"You forgot something, babe." He said as he indicated a couple of plush folded towels he had picked up from the nearby shelf and placed directly over his lap.

Selene smiled, eyeballing Micky with the towels as he came closer to the edge of the tub. He laid the towels on the floor and then lowered himself out of the chair onto the floor at the edge of the tub. At this point, he was sitting on the edge of the tub allowing his legs to dangle in the water.

Selene saw this as an opportunity and moved closer to him so that her head was resting on the inside of his thigh and she was looking up at him. At this point, he was hard as steel and Selene wanted nothing more than to pleasure him. Her lips tickled the tip of his penis lightly and then before he knew what was happening her mouth covered it completely.

Micky watched her. The more he watched, the more turned on he became. He didn't feel the full sensation but he could feel her tugging and pushing against him. An interesting sensation surged through his body that made his entire body twitch at the point whenever the orgasm reached it's breaking point.

"Selene, that feels so damn good!" Micky said, breathing heavily and eventually gasping a bit. She continued this until Micky reached climax a few more times and then helped him down into the water from the edge of the sunken tub.

"Did you know you're great with your mouth?" Micky asked her once he regrouped in the tub. He was still breathing somewhat heavily.

"Did you know that you're hard as steel when you're turned on?" She said as she moved in front of him in the tub and wrapped her legs around him so that he was sitting on the seat mounted in the side of the tub and she was hanging off him around his middle. She felt his penis against her body as she got closer to him.

Micky wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. He felt her hand slide down his side and around the lower front portion of his stomach and then down to where he had almost no sense of feeling. He knew she was about to do something else sexual. He couldn't wait to see what else she would do. She had a way of making sure he knew where her hands were going past the point of feeling without making him feel self conscious.

Selene's hand gripped him and guided his penis into herself as she began having sex with him in the tub. Micky quickly realized what he was doing and went along with it realizing that she was extremely turned on but before he got too far gone, tugged her away from himself enough to talk to her.

"Are you taking the pill?" Micky asked her.

"No." She said in a low, breathy voice and continued what she was doing without missing a beat.

"We're not using any protection, love. I just didn't want you to end up pregnant if you don't want that." He gently told her, once again twitching a bit at the sensation that he was able to feel surging through his body. He felt like he was 20 years old again. Invigorated like he had never been before.

Selene didn't answer but rather continued, obviously pleasuring herself to the point of no return. Micky continued allowing her to pleasure herself with him and tried to enjoy it but didn't allow himself to fully sink into it. He didn't want to have an accident that Selene might regret. Whenever he felt that tingly twitchy sensation once again he knew that he was about to climax and suddenly pushed Selene back, stopping her until he could get out of the moment and think clearly.

"Selene, honey, if we're going to do this, we need to talk about protection and whether or not you want a baby." Micky said to her as he laid his head back on the edge of the tub, still trying to shake the feeling of Selene being all over him and return to a normal state of mind. He loved the way he felt right now. He felt youthful again and not disabled. He was still capable of sexually pleasuring a women.

"Micky, it's gonna be ok." She assured him.

"You mean you don't mind having a baby if that happens?" He asked her, a bit puzzled.

"It isn't particularly my goal but we are married now and it wouldn't be a bad thing." She said, smiling.

"Well do you want one or not? Because if you're not sure about it then we need to discuss it and figure out what we both want. I'm not the one who has to carry the baby and deliver it." He mentioned.

"You're right, maybe not now, but sometime in the future I would like to have a baby with you." Selene said to him as she sat beside him with his arms curled around her.

"Ok, that sounds workable. We will plan for it if at all possible, in the meantime, we will use the appropriate protection until we are ready." He said.

Micky scooped up some water in his hands and poured it over Selene's back and began washing her back. She done the same for him. They had spent over an hour in the tub.

"We should get out of here. Your fingers look like prunes!" She said with a giggle.

"Mamma always said you could tell when you were clean by how much your fingers wrinkled." Micky added.

"Don't let the water out of the tub. I'm going to use it to help me get out of here." Micky said as Selene slipped out onto the floor and wrapped up in a towel then proceeded towards the shelf that held more folded towels to pick up one for her hair.

Micky thrusted himself up out of the water with his hands on the sides of the tub then landed squarely on the folded towel that he had placed on the floor behind himself earlier. Selene tossed him another towel.


	20. Chapter 20

**The Man Next Door (part 20)**

Micky rolled his head over so that he could see the digital clock on the night stand beside the bed. It said 3:33 AM. He knew that another bout of unbearable pain was about to ensue. He could tell by the way he was feeling. Just then he realized that Selene was asleep in the bed beside him and he didn't want to wake her with his thrashing around. He knew that moving around wouldn't help matters anyway. It would probably just make them worse.

Micky knew what he should be doing. He should wake Selene and ask her to get him some pills before the pain really began to get horrid. After another 15 minutes or so of steady increase in lack of comfort, he finally decided that he would do just that.

"Selene...Baby, wake up. Wake up sweet heart." He said quietly as he gently shook her shoulder.

He saw her move and then her eyes opened.

"Hey honey." She said. "You alright?"

"Well...yes and no." He said, hesitating.

Selene pushed herself up into a sitting position. "What's wrong, Micky?" She said quietly.

"I just need some pills, I'm starting to hurt again but it hasn't got really bad yet. I thought I'd see if I could stop it before it gets started." He said.

In the middle of this sentence, Selene had already got up from the bed and returned with a bottle of pills and a cup of water and was in the process of dispensing the pills from the bottle to her hand to give to Micky.

"Don't move around too much, that just agitates it, you know." She said as she put the cup of water in his hand and then one arm behind his neck to help him hold his head up to take the pills she put them in his mouth as he brought the cup to his lips and swallowed them.

Selene allowed Micky to lay back down on the pillow and returned the glass of water to the bathroom.

Whenever she returned, she could tell by the expression on his face that Micky was experiencing pain but not quite on the same level as before. She hoped that by taking the medication before the pain got started that they had stopped it or at least curbed it.

Selene went to get an extra pillow and carefully placed it underneath Micky's knees to elevate his legs. She knew from her training that sometimes this helped alleviate pain but not whether it would work for Micky.

Micky made a sound as she lifted his legs for the pillow.

"Sorry love." She said in a quiet voice. "This should help you a little bit." She added.

She briefly saw a smile cross Micky's face in the midst of the pain he had begun to experience.

"Try to go back to sleep" She said cupping her hand around the side of his face and gently brushing against him.

She crawled back in bed beside him and tried to go back to sleep. She was unable to sleep but after an hour or so, it seemed that Micky had fallen asleep once again and that the medication had obviously worked. Once she noticed this, she was relieved and was then able to sleep a few more hours until daylight.

Selene rummaged through the cabinets to see what was there and quickly decided that she didn't have what she needed and would go grocery shopping before the daily crowds hit the supermarket.

"Micky, I'm going shopping, is there anything you want me to pick up while I'm out?" She said as she looked through the glass dish on the table for the keys to the Mercedes.

"No, I'm good." He said from another room.

"Ok, be back later, love ya!" She said as she walked out the door.

Micky was still experiencing marginal pain but it was very tolerable compared to what he had experienced previously. For that he was thankful. He decided that he would work on Selene's car. he wanted to fix it and have it ready for her whenever she returned. He called a friend of his who had helped him move into his new house and gave them the parts list asking them to bring the parts by his house as soon as possible.

"Sure thing Mick!" Jerry said over the phone.

"Thanks, man!" Micky said as he ended the phone call.

Within 10 minutes, Jerry was there with the requested parts.

"Hey Mick!" Jerry said as he got out of his IROC Z Camaro. He couldn't help but stare for a second at Micky but quickly stopped. He still couldn't believe that this had happened to his friend.

"Hey Jer." Micky said as he approached. "Great to see you!"

"Well, here's the parts you asked me to pick up." Jerry said reaching back into the Camaro to retrieve a bag and a couple of jugs of coolant.

"Hoses, clamps and coolant just like you asked for." Jerry said.

"Thanks! I really owe ya one!" Micky said, accepting the items.

There was a moment of silence before Jerry asked Micky a question. "Did you need any help with that?"

Another awkward silence. Micky knew why Jerry wanted to help him. He wanted to do it out of kindness to make things a little easier but Micky being somewhat stubborn and wanting to fix the car all himself declined any help whatsoever.

"I think I can manage." He said as Jerry got back into the Camaro. "Thanks for asking." He added realizing that he may have come off a little off-putting to his friend.

Once Jerry was gone, Micky opened the Beretta, popped the hood and began to check things out. Just as he had suspected the top radiator hose was busted and it had dropped all of the engine coolant. He was able to disconnect the clamp holding the top portion of the hose to the engine rather easily but had seemingly forgotten about the other end and at this point realized that it was rather difficult to access sitting down. He made several attempts to access it managing at the same time to get his hands and arms covered in grease from other parts that he touched.

"Come on, dammit!" He said as he attempted to reach the screw that held the clamp on with a long screw driver.

He didn't know what he'd do after that point. If he did manage to get the clamp off the hose and get the hose off, he would have a very difficult time getting the replacement hose back on securely and getting the clamp secured.

Just then, he heard the purring of a sports car come back around the block. The car slowed down and turned in the driveway. It was Jerry. He had returned.

"I figured I'd give you a few minutes than come back to check up on ya." Jerry said as he walked toward the Beretta and Micky.

"Jer, Look man...I'm really sorry about how I acted earlier. Would you mind?" Micky said.

"It's ok, don't worry about it." Jerry said as he reached down to the bottom of the split hose, unscrewed the clamp and pulled it off tossing it aside in the driveway and then installing the new hose just as quickly leaving the top portion for Micky to work with. "I know you've been through a lot in the past few months and you don't like asking for help." He added.

"You're right...I didn't want to ask you for help." Micky said. "I hope you'll accept my apologies."

"Apology accepted." Jerry said. "Now you've got a job to finish." He added pointing to the upper part of the radiator hose.

"Hey Jerry, you wanna hang around for a while?" Micky asked.

"Sure, I wasn't doing anything except driving around."

Jerry leaned against the side of the Beretta while Micky reconnected the radiator hose and replenished the coolant to the radiator. The two men talked for a while until Micky asked him to get in and start it up.

"One day soon, I'm going to take this car down to the shop and have a new engine installed in it, have the transmission overhauled and basically have it re-painted and everything. I'm going to make it really nice for Selene." He said.

"Why are you gonna do that? You got a Mercedes sports coupe!" Jerry said eyeballing the parking place where the Mercedes usually sat in the driveway.

"Where is the SLK anyway?" Jerry asked.

"Selene's out grocery shopping this morning." Micky said "As for the Beretta, Selene just likes it a lot and I want to keep it around for her."

"You really love her a lot..." Jerry said.

"Jerry, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Micky said in his most sincere tone. "And I really mean that."

"Yeah, I can tell." Jerry said.

"How so?" Micky asked.

"It's just different. The whole relationship. Whenever you talk about her it's different than it was with anyone else you've dated. It's like this time you've really found what fills that hole in your life." Jerry tried to explain.

"I thought I knew what love was...being married previously and all...but I really didn't begin to live until I met Selene and that's kind of interesting considering my age and hers. You'd think somebody of my age would have experience in the area of love." He said with a chuckle.

"You said you didn't really begin to live until you met her...I don't mean to bring you down or anything but you met her just before your accident and now you're ...well..." He stopped.

"Disabled...I know." Micky said looking at Jerry. It didn't bring him down to talk about it as much now as it had in the past. Selene had really helped him get through a lot of issues.

As the car idled eventually the fan system engaged and began sucking coolant through the system. Micky topped it off and capped it. The Beretta was ready to be driven again.

"What I meant was that Selene made me see a whole new side of my own emotions that I never knew existed. I think I just recently learned what love really is like." Micky said.

"I don't know much about her but she sounds like a really wonderful lady."

"She's something else. That's why I married her." Micky said then realized that he had just let the cat out of the bag. Jerry stood there stunned. He wasn't sure that he had heard what he thought he had heard come from Micky's mouth.

"You what?" Jerry said stumbling over the words.

"You didn't hear that!" Micky said as he quickly tried to explain.

"I think it's great that you got married. I just wish I had of been told about it sooner!" Jerry said. "When did you guys tie the knot?"

"We tied the knot a while back on vacation back whenever Selene moved into my house. Just that nobody was supposed to know about it because she wanted to have a real wedding and invite everyone to that and it was supposed to be like we were never married." Micky explained.

"So that's why she's been shacking up at your place-she's your wife!" Jerry said happily.

"She was never _shacking up_." Micky said a little less humored this time.

"Just please keep it under your hat." Micky pleaded.

"Anything for you, Mick." He agreed. "I wouldn't let that slip out. You know that." He added.

Jerry was feeling a little brazen and wanted to talk man to man with Micky a little bit about relationship topics.

"So how is she in the sack?" Jerry said slapping Micky on the back at the same time.

Any other time in his life, Micky would have been eager to swap sex tips and talk about his relationships with his friends-that was because he had never really _loved_ anyone up to this point. Jerry's comment just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Jerry, you probably will never know how wonderful sex with a woman like Selene could be." Micky said, intentionally cutting the conversation short. "And before you ask, yes it's as good for me as it ever was even with this." He said as he looked down at his legs.

"Cool it dude!" Jerry said to Micky. "I didn't mean to get you all upset like that. We won't talk about Selene anymore."

"Jerry, it's ok. I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to make my point. I'm done." Micky said.

"It's ok. I'm not upset either. I think I'll be on my way now. I'll stop back by another day and visit." Jerry said as he hoped back into the Camaro and drove off.

Micky closed the hood on the Beretta with some difficulty not fully being able to reach it and having to knock the prop rod out from under it and then catch it as it came down to close it properly.

He hoped that Jerry wouldn't tell anyone that he and Selene were actually married. He didn't want that to get out into public because he knew if it did, there would be some media coverage of it and even if it was minimal, he didn't want Selene to be disappointed in him. He wanted this wedding to be an affair to remember.

 **A few hours later...**

"Hey baby!" Micky said as Selene pulled into the driveway with the top down on the SLK. "You enjoying the convertible?" He asked.

"It's alright." She said smiling. Micky came over and opened the door for her.

"But you'd rather drive the Beretta?" He said smiling at her.

"Sometimes I'd like to drive it but this car kind of gives me a feeling of being somebody." She said.

"Somebody? What's that supposed to mean?" Micky said.

"Well, you know, it's more of a status symbol. People who have lots of money and are well to do drive cars like this. I just don't feel like I fit the bill sometimes." She explained.

"I see. Well, you fit the bill, you look great in the car and you shouldn't be self conscious about driving it but if you are, I've got your Beretta running again!" He told her as he handed her the keys to the car.

"Wow, you fixed it!" She said as she took the keys.

"Yep, ready to roll!" He said.

This has obviously made Selene happy.

Once inside the house and the groceries put away Micky wanted to talk to Selene.

"I was wondering if you would be wanting to help me with rehab sometime." Micky asked. "I think I'd like to try walking again."

"Sure! You know I'll be right there with you every step of the way." She said.

"And I was wondering if maybe you'd let me drive the car once in a while." He added.

"We'll see about it." She said then added. "We should work on you regaining your movement first."

"That sounds like a plan." Micky said. "Could we start after lunch?" He asked.

"Sure!" Selene said, glad to see that Micky was willing to continue working toward becoming well again.

After lunch Micky and Selene went into the bedroom where Micky kept most of his equipment. They would also have the use of the bed. It was a nice place to lay while doing laying down exercises and was easier to get up from.

"Ok, lay down on the bed." Selene told him.

Once Micky was laying on his back, Selene began to work with his legs individually moving them in different motions.

"This is to make sure that your muscles are stretched and ready for movement. Kind of like a warm up." She explained as she continued to do this for the next 5 minutes.

Micky laid on the bed and watched as his legs moved and flexed as Selene moved him. The more he watched, the more he wished that he could move them himself.

"Is this hurting you at all?" Selene asked.

"No, I'll let you know if it starts hurting. Keep doing it." Micky told her. "I want to be able to walk again really soon." He said.

After the initial exercises, Selene began to apply slight force to his legs as she maneuvered them.

"This will build strength back in your legs and condition the muscles." She explained to him.

"Sounds promising." He said.

"You've lost a bit of muscle mass over this whole ordeal. Needs to be built back up again before you will be able to walk again. That's what the braces are for." She explained.

"When do we actually get to start walking?" Micky asked.

"In a few weeks whenever you're ready for it." Selene said.

Over the next week, Selene and Micky repeated the exercises. Selene decided that she wouldn't make him wait another week to walk with the braces. He was just itching to get out of that chair. He had also told her that he had been regaining some of the feeling in the lower part of his body which was a good sign that things were coming back alive down there.

Whenever it became time to go through his daily exercise routine, he laid down on the bed expecting her to go through the usual leg exercises with him but something entirely different happened.

"I've got something for you." She said as she opened the walk in closet and pulled out a walker and the leg braces.

Micky hadn't been fond of the walker and somewhat scowled at it. It was so obtrusive and large. It was obvious and in his mind, more obvious than the wheelchair and perhaps more clumsy. He wanted to walk again but he didn't like the mental image of himself using both the heavy leg braces and the walker. He would have much rather used some other method but he wanted to walk again and he had placed his trust in Selene and her partial nursing education to get him through this.

"It will be ok." Selene said as she approached the edge of the bed where he lay. "Nobody's gonna think any less of you if you have to use this equipment to get around for a while." She went on.

"I know...Let's just try it and see how it works." He said with little enthusiasm.

Selene helped Micky into a sitting position on the bed. His legs were still stretched out in front of him. She brought one of the leg braces over and hauled it up on the bed then proceeded to arrange his leg in it so that she could buckle it. Once she had all of the straps and buckles latched that held it in place, she done the same for the other one and then helped Micky to sit on the edge of the bed.

He could feel the extra weight that the braces added to his legs and he could also see his reflection in the nearby mirror. He was wearing shorts on this particular day which made it all the more obvious. He still found it very hard to look at himself while using this equipment. Selene brought the walker over and sat it in front of him so that he could stand up.

"There ya go." She said as she motioned for him to stand.

Micky bent over to lock the braces like he had done in the past so that they'd support his weight but Selene stopped him.

"No, don't lock them. You have to support your own weight this time. The braces aren't supposed to support your entire weight during therapy, only assist you in doing so. You need to strengthen your legs." She explained.

"I don't know if I can do it without the braces being locked..." Micky said as he placed both hands on the walker preparing to push himself up into a standing position.

"Don't worry, love. If you can't do it just yet, you'll just fall back on the bed and we can try again tomorrow." Selene said, moving to stand in front of him so that she could watch his form and see if there were any evident areas that required work.

Micky sat on the edge of the bed for a few more seconds and then finally pushed himself up into a standing position using the walker as a brace to hold himself up which allowed some but not all of his weight to be distributed on his legs. The still felt flimsy under his weight but for the first time in a long time he could see himself making not a partial recovery like the doctor had told him but a full recovery.

"Ok, We're not going to be walking just yet, Micky." Selene told him then went on to explain to him just what they would be doing. "You're going to be walking in place rather than actually walking. This is another step to build strength in your legs. Just walk in place, pick up one foot, set it down and pick up the other one."

This didn't sound too difficult but Micky knew that it would be a task that he would have to concentrate on. Very slowly, he managed to lift his right foot bending slightly at the knee about 3 inches off the floor. He looked at Selene and smiled. It had been forever since he'd flashed that huge smile at her.

"Look, I did it!" He said with excitement that was not inhibited by any boundaries.

Selene was so happy for him that she wanted to give him a hug and that's exactly what she did. Micky managed to slip one arm around Selene and somehow still manage to stand.

"I'm so proud of you, Micky!" Selene said

"Me too..." He said.

"So, would you like to continue your exercises?" Selene asked after the excitement had passed.

Micky nodded and continued a few repetitions bending his knee and lifting his foot alternating one leg with the other for the next half hour. Gradually he noticed that he was able to bend his knee a little more and control his movement a bit more. Although he still wasn't able to raise his foot more than a couple of inches off the floor at any given time, he was thrilled with his progress so far. Previously, he hadn't even been able to do that much.

During the course of the next month, Micky had progressed enough so that he could walk short distances with a walker and had been taking short walks around the house a few times a day just for the thrill of it. He still used the wheel chair whenever he went outside the house. His walks usually only lasted for 10 minutes or so before his body required him to rest his legs.

One such morning after breakfast while Micky was reading a local newspaper at the kitchen table his paper suddenly collapsed in his hands. Selene was on the other side of it and had pulled it down with a finger so that she could look at him.

"Sorry love, didn't mean to hide behind this thing from you all morning." He said with the usual bright smile that lit up the room.

"It's ok, I just wanted to ask you if you'd care to come out and take a walk with me." She asked him happily. "The weather's really nice outside right now." She continued.

Micky folded the paper and laid it on the table as he thought about this proposition.

"I think you'd enjoy being outside." Selene added before Micky had time to answer.

"Ok, maybe for a little while. It might be a change." He said.

"Great! I'll go get your stuff." Selene said walking around the corner to retrieve his walker and tennis shoes.

Whenever she returned, Micky had already went outside the house to wait for her in his wheelchair. Selene brought him the walker.

"Thanks." He said as he stood up from the chair, still with obvious minor difficulty.

Selene knew that she wouldn't be able to go too far, maybe just around the parameter of the back yard since she knew that he wouldn't be able to walk for long distances.

"Let's just walk around the back yard for now." Selene suggested.

Micky knew that she was changing her usual walk around the block just for him because she knew that he wouldn't be able to make it around the block. He started to feel slightly saddened again with this thought until she snapped him out of that line of thought.

"Micky? What's wrong?" Selene asked whenever she noticed his attention focusing on his own thoughts.

"Nothing, I was just thinking that one day soon, we will take a walk around the block." He said.

The two of them headed for the back yard. It wasn't a large yard but it was big enough for Micky to take a walk around and was also level for the most part. He wouldn't have any hills to climb or any other difficulties. They slowly made their way around the back yard.

"I wish I could hold your hand whenever we walk." Micky said to Selene. "But I have to have both hands on this stupid thing." He added, indicating the walker.

"You'll be able to lose it soon enough. Once you are able to build up your strength and muscle function again, you will probably be able to move on to a cane or maybe nothing at all." She said, slipping her arm around his waist.

The two of them completed a walk around the parameter of the yard once and then walked halfway around a second time whenever Selene noticed that Micky was looking awfully drained and tired.

"Micky, are you going to be able to make it back to the house walking?" She asked, knowing that he had already over done it. He'd been outside now for over a half hour. Some of that time was spent walking while the rest of it was spent standing and talking.

"I think I'll be alright." He said, knowing very well that he shouldn't push himself like this.

The look on his face said otherwise to Selene. She knew that it wouldn't be a good thing for him to continue walking around the yard without a rest first. She didn't want to make him feel like a failure because he was unable to walk around the yard so she'd have to divert him some other way. There was a wrought iron table and chairs that had been left in the back yard from the last person who had lived in the house and it hadn't been moved out yet. It was just sort of sitting there. It was slightly rusty but most assuredly usable.

"I never noticed how nice that table and chairs were over there." Selene said as she walked toward them hoping that Micky would do the same.

"Yeah, They were here whenever I moved into the place. I just never got around to doing anything with them." Micky said, moving toward the table and Selene.

"These actually feel pretty nice." Selene said as she sat on one of the chairs, ignoring the rust.

"Come over here and try it out." She said to Micky.

He obliged and joined her at the table at which point, she began discussing with him what could be done with this table and chairs.

"You know, you could sand this off and slap a fresh coat of paint on it and it'd be nice." Selene said, indicating the table.

"Yeah, but I never really needed it. There's a nice table up on the deck." Micky said.

"Well, you could always give it to someone who needed it." She suggested.

"I don't know of anyone who would actually need a wrought iron table and chairs. It'd be more like they'd just like to have one. It wouldn't be very attractive to use inside and it'd mess up the floor something awful." He explained.

"Although it could be donated to the local thrift store sometime." Micky added.

"That'd be a nice thing to do with it but I think we should clean it up before we donate it, don't you?" Selene asked.

"Sure, clean it up or just leave it as is and let somebody else make a project out of it. Either way, it's still good." Micky said.

"You're a good carpenter." Selene said. "I'm sure that you could come up with some good ideas for it."

The two of them continued this discussion of what could be done with the table for at least the next 10 or 15 minutes. Selene had hoped that this would be enough of a rest for Micky to be able to make it back to the house. If she had to go get the wheelchair, she would in order to keep him from over doing it but she really didn't want to have to do that because she knew that it would make him feel a lack of accomplishment and it would be bad for his self esteem. She wanted to continue to build him up emotionally because she believed that it was helping him recover and knew that a set back wouldn't be a good state of mind for him. She also figured that she'd just let him continue the discussion about the table and go along with it until he decided that it was time to go back to the house. This discussion didn't last much longer before he decided that they should go in and have a tall glass of lemonade.

"Why don't we just have it right here in the yard?" Selene asked "I'll go get it and you can just hang out here until I get back." She added, hoping that Micky would stay put for just a little longer.

"Nah, let's just go back inside, the sun's starting to get hot out here and there's no shade." He said as he proceeded to get up out of the chair.

"Ok, that sounds good too." Selene said, walking around the table and putting an arm around his waist to help steady him. She hoped that he hadn't caught on to what she had been doing trying to get him to stay put for his own good.

The two of them slowly made their way back to the house. Selene could tell that Micky had over done it and needed to rest. She went ahead of him and brought the wheelchair around from the side door to the back yard so that he wouldn't have to be up anymore.

"Thank you, honey." He said as he plopped down in the chair, obviously relieved that he wasn't going to have to walk any further.

Without asking, Selene pushed him along the sidewalk around the house and then into the side door leading into the kitchen. She could already see that his legs were beginning to have spasms which was a sign of over exertion.

Selene poured two tall glasses of lemonade that she had made earlier from some fresh lemons that she has bought at the local farmer's market. She still had a couple of them left over so she decided to slice one of them and put a piece on the top of each glass. She had always thought that there was something fancy about having a lemon on the rim of a glass even though it was quite the usual thing to do. It just added a nice touch.

She turned to bring the glasses to the table and saw that Micky was not at the table but rather still on the other side of the room and holding his left leg.

She sat the glasses down and approached him.

"Micky, is everything alright?" She asked realizing that the situation didn't warrant ant serious reaction from her at this point.

"I think so, it's just that my leg is throbbing right now." He said, rubbing it.

"You probably just stayed up too long." Selene said.

"And sometimes it feels like there's a hot needle being stabbed right through my bones." He added.

"Well, that sounds like a nerve to me." Selene told him. "That's to be expected in the recovery process."

"Wanna have lemonade now?" Selene asked smiling.

Without answering, Micky smiled back, nodded and went over to the table with Selene.

"You know, sometimes it's weird." Micky said. "I can feel them sometimes and sometimes I can't." he added, referring to his legs.

"At least you can feel them sometimes. That's an improvement on before." Selene said, sipping the lemonade.

"I guess so."Micky said. "I think I'm gonna go stretch out in that recliner and watch some TV for a while, maybe take a nap or something."

"Ok, sounds good. You should probably rest a little bit and elevate your legs." Selene told him.

"I'll take your lemonade in there." She offered, picking up the glass off the table along with her own and indicating that she wanted Micky to follow.

"You know, I think I just may be able to get in and out of this chair without any help." He said as he sank into the chair, this time not having to plop into it from the wheelchair but half standing and able to sit in it more normally.

"That's great." Selene said, but I'm going to miss those hugs I get whenever I help you up." She smiled.

"Honey, you can hug me anytime you want." Micky said smiling and then taking another sip of his lemonade before he sat it on the end table beside the chair and opened his arms to Selene.

She didn't hesitate, she landed squarely on his lap and wrapped around him kissing him gently on the cheek and then just hugging him. Micky held her with both arms around her. He was loving every moment of it as usual.

"You could do this to me every day and I'd never get tired of it." He said from somewhere around the side of her neck as he kissed it gently a few times.

After several minutes of this pleasurable experience, Selene noticed that Micky seemed slightly uncomfortable so she decided to get up off his lap. She was right but Micky didn't say anything. He had been in constant pain from the time he sat down in the wheelchair in the back yard after their walk. The flaming needle through the bone feeling was back. He had just masked his pain a little better for the moment.

"Selene, were you planning on going shopping anytime soon?" Micky asked as she sat on the couch across from him.

"I could go today, is there something you'd like me to pick up?" She asked him.

"Yeah, we need some milk and maybe a Hot Rod magazine would be nice." he suggested.

Anything else?" She asked.

"Yeah, check the mail whenever you come back. I don't think I'm gonna make it to the mailbox for a while." He said with a smile still hiding the pain that he was in.

"Look at that, you done went and wore yourself out didn't ya?" She joked.

"Yep, looks that way." He replied trying to maintain the same light composure that he was using to cover the pain.

After a few minutes, Selene had collected a cell phone, her purse and the keys to her Beretta and was headed out the door.

"Selene..." She heard Micky calling from the living room and turned to poke her head back through the door to see what he needed.

"He honey, take the other car. I want to have yours checked out before you go driving it around again." He told her and reached in his pocket and pulled out a key to the Mercedes.

"It's ok, I've got my other keys right here." She told him as she headed out the door and hopped into the Mercedes.

Whenever Micky saw the car leaving the driveway out the big picture window he was finally able to let go of the bluff from earlier. He cried out loud several times-every time he had one of these stabbing pains in his legs until it seemed to make the pain somewhat more bearable. He couldn't get comfortable in the recliner. At that point, he decided that he would try the bed if he could get there. Whenever he moved to put some weight on his legs to transfer into the wheelchair the burning pain shot up both his legs and into his back and nearly put him on the floor. Thankfully the chair was there to catch him whenever he fell. He sat there for the better part of the next 10 minutes trying to breathe through the pain and divert his attention on something else until he could get to the bedroom. He knew something was wrong. This pain was different from anything he had experienced in the past. It was more intense and moved around rather than staying in one place.

Finally Micky gathered the strength to get himself into the bedroom but decided to go find some pain medicine in the bathroom before he laid down since it might help him. He took a double dose of Ibuprofen and then laid down on the bed.

After an hour, he still had no relief from the pain and Selene hadn't returned yet. He had hoped that he would be feeling better whenever she returned. She hated for her to have to see him like this. It made him feel like his age was finally catching up with him.

Micky rolled over to face the night stand and picked up the cordless phone that laid there. He was debating calling an old friend of his who lived nearby to see if perhaps they could supply him with some more powerful medication. He knew that he shouldn't even get near narcotics but right now the pain was literally making him crazy. He couldn't stand it and it was more unbearable than anything else he had ever experienced previously. He was well past his threshold for pain. He picked up the phone and made the call. 10 minutes later, a man arrived at the house and came in on his own accord as per Micky's instructions and delivered a small bag containing about 10 pills.

"Here ya go man, hope these help but don't get yourself addicted to them again. The price went up since last time."

"Thank you." Micky said through pain.

The man went to get him a glass of water and put it along with the bag of pills within Micky's reach.

"Here, take this." Micky said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet and pulling out two one hundred dollar bills then collapsing on the bed again in pain.

"Take it easy man, catch ya later." The man said as he left the house with the money.

Micky was so crazy with pain that he didn't even think twice before popping three of the pills that had been delivered to him. If it didn't help the pain at least it would get him stoned enough so that he wouldn't feel it until it was over. At least that's what he had hoped for.

Shortly after taking the pills, Micky drifted in and out of awareness and finally went to sleep.

Two hours later, Selene pulled up in the driveway with the groceries. She only had a few bags and brought them into the house to unload them. It was at that point, she noticed that the TV was still on in the living room and realized that perhaps Micky was sleeping in there. She poked her head around the corner. No Micky. This was odd. He usually never left the TV on if he was in another part of the house.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom or something." She thought to herself and continued putting away the groceries. After she finished, she still hadn't heard anything from Micky so she decided she'd go look for him. She walked down the hall and found the door to his room pushed closed but cracked a bit. She could see him laying on the bed so she walked into the room and immediately noticed the clear plastic bag of pills that were now laying beside him near his right hand on the bed and the nearly empty glass of water. She picked up one of the pills and immediately recognized it as Oxycontin, a highly addictive pain killer. Her heart sank. She knew what had happened.

Next, panic set in. She had no idea how many of these things he had swallowed but even one could be a huge set back for him.

"Micky! Micky! Wake up!" She said as she began shaking him harder than usual. She knew that he was in a narcotic induced sleep which would be a deep sleep. Finally she was able to rouse him enough to get a grunt out of him but he still didn't seem to realize that anyone was there and only grunted. He hadn't opened his eyes.

"Micky, dammit! Wake up!" Selene yelled at him shaking him even harder until he finally opened his eyes. What she saw was horrific. His pupils were dilated heavily, he was drooling out the side of his mouth and he was completely unaware of what was going on around him. He had a frightening glassy look to his eyes.

Selene hauled him up into a sitting position by his arm but he only gurgled at her, rolling his eyes back into his head.

"Micky, what have you done?!" She said to him in a raised tone of voice that wasn't quite at the point of screaming. "Tell me what you done! How many of these did you take?!" She persisted.

Micky just gurgled and groaned. His eyes rolled back in his head, then he nearly tipped back over onto the bed.

Selene knew what she had to do. She allowed Micky to fall back into the bed, went to the bathroom, got the trash can and brought it back into the room. She proceeded to haul him up into a sitting position once more and then jammed her fingers down his throat to induce vomiting. At the same time, she was attempting to lean him forward as much as possible so that he wouldn't choke on it since he was obviously not in control of his body. As he began to throw up, she looked for any sign of the number of pills that he had taken but she was too late, they had already dissolved. Once she was satisfied that she had completely emptied the contents of his stomach into the trash can and that he was finished, she tried to get his attention again to ask him about how many pills he had taken. This time, she lightly slapped his face a few times and called his name.

"S s elene..." came out slowly and with a slur as Micky slowly was brought back to the land of the living.

"Yes, Micky. It's me. Tell me how many pills you took." She said as she held him up in a sitting position on the bed.

"Pilllllllls." Micky repeated. "Thr..." He stopped talking but Selene thought she knew that he had taken three of them. At this point, she realized that he had passed out. She dropped him on the bed and went for the phone to call 911. Just before she called, she noticed the number that had been previously dialed. She scribbled it down on her hand and then proceeded to call 911.

Micky was still lying on the bed completely unresponsive but he still had a pulse and was still breathing.

The EMTs arrived within 10 minutes of the call. Selene ran outside the house to flag them down. 4 of them came into the house, loaded up Micky and carted him out to the ambulance for transport to the hospital.

Selene explained to one of the 4 EMTs her account of what happened. The EMT took some notes and thanked her.

Selene locked the house and immediately jumped into the Mercedes and shot out of the driveway peeling rubber as she left following the ambulance.


	21. Chapter 21

The Man Next Door

By the time Selene arrived at the hospital, the EMTs had already took Micky into the hospital. She had hoped to get there right behind them and be able to go in with him but that just wasn't happening.

She ran to the front desk to talk to the nurse there. "A man was just brought through here, do you know where I can find him?"

The nurse pointed down a hallway. "The ER waiting area is down the hall on the left."

Not taking time to say another word, Selene ran to the area where she was told to go. There was another nurse at another desk filling out some paperwork.

"I need to know where I can find the man they just brought into the ER. I'm with him." Selene explained, slightly out of breath.

"Name please?" The nurse said without looking up from her paperwork.

"Selene McHannoy...Dolenz!" She corrected herself.

"The patient's name?"

"Micky Dolenz." Selene said, becoming slightly irritated with the nurse's lack of attention to the matter.

The nurse sifted through some paper work on her desk but Selene had already seen everything she needed to see. Micky's paperwork was laying right there on top of the stack with the room number and everything on it.

Selene left the nurse's desk immediately and headed for the ER room indicated on Micky's paper work. She approached the door and looked in through the window. She could see Micky laying there on the table. There were nurses all around him and apparently several doctors. They had already removed his clothes and had him in a hospital gown. They had already hooked him up to several IVs and were putting a breathing tube down his throat which Selene found herself not wanting to watch but at the same time she couldn't divert her attention. That was the man she loved in there and she wanted to know everything that was being done. At precisely that moment, Micky rolled his head over to one side and opened his eyes for a brief moment staring at the window in the door where Selene had been watching from a distance. She knew that he saw her. His big brown eyes were somehow clear now but she could see an expression of pain and sadness. Deep pain from the inner depths of his soul. It was almost too much to bear. She knew one thing. She knew at this point that he was aware of what he had done and she wondered if perhaps he might be worried about what she would think of the whole ordeal. She decided right then and there that she was going to be supportive of him no matter what. Micky didn't need someone to chide him or chew on him for doing something that he shouldn't have done. She felt that a response of love and support would help him more.

She watched as the hospital staff scurried around hooking Micky up to a great number of different machines and things. After a while, a doctor noticed her watching from outside the room and came over to talk with her about the situation.

"Are you his daughter?" The doctor asked before discussing the matter any further.

"No, his wife." Selene answered. At that point the age difference hit her but she couldn't think about that now and it wasn't something she cared to think about. It just felt weird that someone thought she was his daughter.

"Well, I had to make sure since he's a celebrity. We've had fans who have swarmed the hospital whenever we have a celebrity client and that is not something we like to deal with." The doctor explained.

"Mr. Dolenz seems to have ingested a heavy dose of Oxycontin. As you probably already know, that's highly addictive and we're trying to flush it out of his system right now. He hasn't suffered any major bodily damage from it that we can tell other than mild delusion and being extremely groggy from it. The detox is working nicely, just so you know."

Selene stood there taking it all in. "So you think he will be alright?" She asked.

"He should be fine in a few days." The doctor said with confidence.

"What about his addiction problem?" Selene questioned.

"What addiction problem." The doctor asked.

"Micky was addicted to pain killers several years ago before I met him and apparently got off it but had a really hard time of things. That's all I know about it. He's been clean for several years now." She explained.

"Oh dear, this could present some other concerns." The doctor said aloud. "He could have gotten enough to start that craving up again. With recovering addicts you always have the concern of falling off the wagon and you have to be careful not to trigger that craving. If he has triggered it, he may become an addict again or at the very least, be extremely difficult to live with until he gets over it." The doctor said.

"I love him. I'll be supportive of him. When can I go in and see him?" Selene said.

"Support is what will help him the most. You should be able to see him within the next 20 minutes or so whenever we move him to a hospital room. We're going to keep him overnight and probably for a few days for observation and detox." The doctor continued then directed Selene to a waiting area where she would be notified after Micky had been transported.

As Micky lay on the table in the ER he was partially aware of his surroundings enough to know that he was in a hospital and to know why he was there. He had seen Selene looking through the window at him. His body was completely numb which wasn't necessarily a bad thing considering the pain he had felt earlier but his mind was aware enough to realize that he shouldn't have even considered taking Oxycontin for the pain and that this would be a major set back. He was already feeling as though he needed more of it and he wasn't even having any pain. He couldn't speak because of the tube coming out of his mouth. He was gradually becoming irritable but he didn't want to feel like this. He recognized the symptoms. They were all too familiar for him. This was the beginning of addiction and withdraw. He had managed to sink much deeper into it the last time before he dug himself out of it. This time he was going to try not to let that happen. This was a slip up on his part but he was not going to let it happen again. He watched as a nurse stuck his arm with another needle that he couldn't feel and pushed the plunger shooting some sort of clear liquid in his arm. She patted the arm and said "That should calm your nerves until we get your system cleaned out." then walked away.

It wasn't too long after that, Micky was transferred to a hospital bed in a room along with everything that had been hooked up to him. He had managed to drift in an out once again. He wasn't sure if this could still be the effects of the Oxycontin or something he had been given at the hospital. He stared up at the ceiling as spots on the tiles became a blur and then he couldn't remember anything else after that.

Selene was advised of the specifics of his condition before being allowed to go into the room.

"This will take a toll on his body. He's going to be in here a few days to get cleaned out and back on his feet. We just want you to know that he may seem moody so be prepared. You indicated that he had a previous addiction problem so this may be a set back for him." Selene nodded as the doctor told her about Micky. She desperately wanted to see him since the doctor wasn't telling her anything that she didn't already know. Finally the doctor finished talking and gave her the go ahead to enter the room.

She had prepared for the worst. It was hard for her thinking about Micky in the hospital. The last time he was in the hospital it had been the result of a near fatal car accident that left him paralyzed. The scene was horrific whenever she arrived that first time. She could already see that it wasn't as bad as previous. There wasn't nearly the amount of beeping equipment that was plugged into Micky outside of several IVs and the breathing tube coming out of his mouth. She was told that this would probably be removed in the next day.

Selene slowly approached Micky's bedside. A part of her couldn't help being angry with him because he didn't tell her that his pain was this severe. She also felt partly at fault for leaving him at the house even after he had briefly described the pain to her. She didn't even think to ask him if he was experiencing that whenever he mentioned it. She quickly went from feeling angry to feeling as though it was partly her fault and as though she hadn't taken proper care of him.

His hands were laying at his sides for the moment. He was sleeping. Selene laid one of her hands on his and then squeezed his hand lightly.

"Micky, I'm really sorry I acted like that earlier. I'm so sorry." She said to him barely above a whisper as he lay there sleeping and seemingly unresponsive.

Micky could hear her but he felt as though he couldn't open his eyes or do anything. Whatever they had given him and greatly relaxed him and calmed him down. In fact, he wanted to be angry with his body for not being able to open his eyes and talk to Selene but he couldn't even make himself express the emotions he happened to be feeling at the time. Now he really felt trapped within his own body.

He knew that Selene was still there because she was still apologizing to him and talking to him. He could also feel her squeezing his hand. He wanted so badly to open his eyes and at least let her know he was hearing her. He tried once more to make this happen but it didn't. He wanted to make his hand squeeze hers but he wasn't able to make that happen either.

"Micky?" Selene said quietly, noticing that the appearance and expression of his face had changed along with the heart rate on the heart monitor. His heart rate had increased slightly, not enough to be alarmed about but enough to let her know that something was going on at that moment with him. She saw the expression of discontent on his face and just knew that he was trying to do something and was unable to do it.

"Micky, are you in there?" She said to him, trying to coax brain activity. She knew that they had given him some medication to make him stay relaxed. She pushed hair back off his face and accidentally got her wedding ring caught on a piece of hair pulling it. She saw him flinch whenever that happened and knew that he was aware. "Sorry about that love. Didn't mean to do that." She said to him as she continued talking to him telling him that he was going to be alright.

Micky felt Selene's hand on his face. That was one of his favorite things. Soon he felt her finger lifting his eyelid.

"Yes, do it." He thought to himself, still too relaxed and unable to do anything other than think.

He saw his eyelid lift and could see Selene beside his bed. He managed to move his eyeball around just a little.

"You are in there, and you just can't open your eyes yet." She said and smiled. "Don't worry, I know what they've given you, it'll wear off soon." She told him. "You'll be just fine." She said to him and then kissed his forehead.

It was almost as though his face mellowed out and she could see that she had put him at ease.

"It was pure hell laying in a hospital bed alert but unable to do anything." Micky thought to himself but then the reality of the situation set in and he all of a sudden realized that this could very well be his permanent state of existence if the accident had of been worse.

It was too horrible to think about. Micky was satisfied to just be content that the medication and relaxers would wear off soon enough and then he could continue dealing with the other problems at hand.

After another hour or so had passed, he was able to open his eyes and turn his head so that he could see Selene sitting in the chair by his bed watching a muted television in the room. She quickly felt his eyes on her and turned to him. At this point, he had a pitiful look in his eyes. A look of regret, sadness and anger.

Selene got up from the chair, switched off the TV and went over to the bed where she put one hand on his arm and the other on the side of his face.

"It's gonna be ok, Micky. Just get better." She said to him, reassuring him about the situation.

With that, he made a sound but was still unable to speak because of the breathing tube that had not been removed.

"Shhh, don't try to talk yet." Selene told him. "I'll go get someone and see if I can get that removed now that you're awake." She said to him.

Micky looked down toward his hand at the bundle of IV needles that were sticking out of it then back toward Selene.

"I'll see what I can do about those too." She assured him. His hands and arms were already showing bruising from being a human pin cushion.

Selene left the room and returned about 10 minutes later with a couple of nurses and a doctor.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Dolenz!" The chubby doctor said as he entered the room. "We'll get you fixed right up!" He continued as he proceeded to review the charts and then proceeded with a basic examination.

"So, can we remove the breathing tube yet?" Selene asked after a seeing that the doctor had concluded his exam.

"I think so. I'll have the nurses do that after I'm finished." he said.

"What about some of the IVs?" Selene continued.

"Yes, those too, except for the one giving him fluids. He needs plenty of that but we can do without the rest of them at this point." the doctor said happily.

"Sounds great, thank you doctor." Selene said as she looked to Micky and smiled squeezing his shoulder.

"We'll need you to step outside for a few minutes while we remove everything." one of the nurses told her.

Without saying anything, Selene stepped out of the room. A few minutes later, the nurses came out and gave her the go ahead to be back in the room once again.

Selene didn't waste any time getting back in there. The nurses had raised the bed to a sitting position, removed the breathing tube and all but one of the IVs. Micky looked a little better than previous but it was obvious that he was uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry." Micky whispered.

"It's ok, don't try to talk just yet. Your throat is irritated right now." Selene explained. There was a white board hanging on the wall that was there for hospital staff to write patient notes on. No one had written anything on it so Selene took it off it's hanger and handed it to Micky.

"Here, use this if you want to say something." She told him. "It will be better for you in the long run."

Micky reluctantly took the small white board and dry erase marker in his hand and began to write something on the board. He was still experiencing the side effects of the medication so his handwriting wasn't as clear as usual.

" _Sorry for taking pills. Should have told you. Won't do it again. Thx for still loving me. I :3 U 2."_ and with that, he realized that he had been unable to restrain the tears that began streaming down his face.

Immediately without hesitation, Selene cradled him in a hug. "It's going to be alright, baby. We'll work through it and get you back to your old self again. This time will pass." She said as she continued to hold her husband close, slightly rocking him in her arms.

She allowed him to sink back onto the bed but still kept one hand on his forearm and the other holding that same hand.

"You're making progress already and perhaps if we're lucky, you won't have any significant problems resulting out of this." Selene encouraged.

She could tell that he wanted to say something again and handed him the white board and marker.

"Want to go home." Micky wrote and then added "Today!" underlining it twice.

"You will be able to go home soon." Selene told him. She could tell that he really didn't want to be there and would probably have better progress with recovery at home.

"The doctor said you can eat anything you want. Would you like some food?" Selene asked him. "I'm getting pretty hungry so I thought I'd go grab something." She added.

Micky rubbed off his previous writings with his finger from the white board and then wrote "Cheeseburger, ex pickles, onion rings, Mt. Dew."

Selene took the board and looked at his order. "I think I can handle that. I'll be back soon." She said. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips before she left.

Selene knew of a nearby burger joint that was pretty good. They had some of the best grease in the country if you liked onion rings. She decided that she'd go over to the Dirty Dawg for food. Despite the name, the food was excellent but not at all healthy. She wasn't so much concerned about healthy food right now but was rather concerned with comfort food. Something that would make Micky feel good.

Micky clicked through the available TV channels while he was waiting for Selene to return with food. The room door was closed due to his celebrity status and hospital policy to protect his privacy. Just then a nurse came in and informed Micky that he had a visitor.

There's a guy named Jerry out here asking to see you, he insisted that he was a friend of yours." The nurse told him. Micky nodded indicating that it was ok for Jerry to come in. He was surprised that Jerry knew he was there and surprised that Jerry would want to see him after the slight argument they had previously while working on Selene's car.

Jerry poked his head in the door before the nurse even exited the room. "Mick, I gotta talk to you!" Jerry said with some urgency in his voice.

Before he got any further with the conversation the nurse informed him of Micky's current condition. "Don't upset him, and he can't talk very much right now so make it quick." She sternly told him.

Without further comment, Jerry saw that Micky was writing something on the white board. Micky held it up. It read "Hi Jerry."

Jerry didn't take time for hellos, how are you doings or anything like that. He jumped straight into the reason why he had stopped by.

"I didn't know you were even in the hospital until this morning whenever I went to the supermarket and saw these." He produced 4 newsstand magazines all of which had large headlines splashed across the front cover saying things like "Has-been Monkee Micky Dolenz Now Disabled Dope Addict!" and " Ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz Hospitalized for Drug Abuse!" and even "Micky Dolenz: The true story of his life, his live in girlfriend that's barely legal and his life-altering injuries."

All of these magazines featured some very revealing photography. One in particular featured photos that appeared to have been taken from Micky's back yard just yesterday while he and Selene were taking their walk. The photos showed Micky using a walker and leg braces emphasizing that he wasn't even able to make it around his back yard much less would he ever be able to make it back on stage. Some other pictures were of both Micky and Selene and showed her with her arm around him once again in the back yard at his house to go along with statements about her age and their relationship among other things. Micky continued flipping through the magazines that Jerry had brought to him just to see what was out there. These photos and articles were highly revealing not to mention sensationalized as was classic of most tabloid magazines but something about it told him that something wasn't as it should be. This would have been the sort of thing he would have expected 40 years ago in his teen idol days but not now. After all, the news of his accident didn't really make it into mainstream media outside of local news.

Jerry could tell that Micky was livid at this point. "Hey man, don't shoot the messenger, I just thought you should know about that." He said waiving both hands.

Micky said in his loudest whisper "I'll kill them if they come near Selene!" he said with a venomous hiss.

"Ok, well I gotta run, I hope you feel better soon." Jerry said as he left Micky there with the 4 magazines all of which pictured Micky in a pitiful state on the cover.

Micky was unsettled about this whole thing. "Who had been close enough to take pictures in his back yard without him knowing it?" He wondered. "And why would somebody do this to him?"

He continued flipping through the articles and it seemed that his relationship with Selene was one of the main points alongside the drug use statements. He wondered why somebody would be that interested in Selene and then all of a sudden Trevor came to mind. Micky was more than livid at this point. He was in no condition to do it at that moment but he would find out what exactly had been going on and _who_ had been watching him.

Selene waited at the counter for her order to come out. After about 10 minutes everything came out all packaged up and ready to go. She had taken the liberty of ordering a cheeseburger for herself as well. Her better judgment told her that Micky probably wouldn't eat everything he had ordered due to the irritation in his throat in which case, she would share in his onion rings and drink.

Selene returned to the hospital and parked the car. She had to park a little further away from the door than usual but that was would need the extra exercise after consuming the cheeseburger that she had ordered.

She approached the hospital's front door, headed through the main foyer and toward the elevator. Once she was on the floor where Micky's room was located, she let the head nurse know that she was back. The door to Micky's room squeaked a little bit as she pushed it open.

Micky had a look on his face that shot daggers at anyone looking. Selene could clearly see that he was angry about something but at first thought perhaps it was some sort of relapse of his addiction problem then she saw the magazines spread across his lap.

"Oh my God! Micky, what's going on?" She said quietly but obviously a bit rattled as she put down the food and picked up one of the magazines to flip through it.

"Selene, I'm sorry this happened." Micky said to her still in a raspy whisper. He still didn't have all of his strength back and still felt slightly groggy but managed to take the magazine out of her hand for the time being.

"I can't believe this shit!" She said aloud. "This is ridiculous!" She continued. "Secret sex life! Disabled drug addict?! Who would publish something like this and why?"

"Where'd they get these pictures?" She spouted off. Finally she had grasped the most important aspect of this matter. Who had been taking pictures that they didn't even know was on the place?

Micky was livid but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

"Ok, one shit at a time here...let's eat, we will talk about this later." Selene said, obviously still angered by what she had just read.

Micky was somewhat shocked at the level of her anger. He hadn't really seen her go off like that. She'd been angry with him in the past but it was different than now. Just then, Selene reached over to slide the rolling hospital table over across Micky's lap and plopped the bag containing food onto it.

"Eat." She said and with that turned and walked out of the room.

Micky didn't know what to think about what had just happened and just sat there waiting to see when Selene would return.

Meanwhile, Selene was at the nurse's station inquiring as to whether or not anyone strange had been hanging around the hospital that showed an interest in either her or Micky. Nothing had been noticed but she knew that she couldn't really expect too much from the nurses at the desk in the line of security. They were much too busy with the jobs that they were actually paid to do to double as security.

A few minutes later Selene returned to the room, shut the door and had apparently calmed down.

"I'm sorry about that little outburst earlier, Micky. I just felt like we were so violated whenever I saw those pictures. I feel as though someone's always watching us now-those pictures were private personal parts of our life and now they're out there for everyone to see and gawk at...talk about..."

By this time, Micky had taken a sip or two of the Mt. Dew that Selene had brought him and it had cleared his voice up just a little bit so that he could speak somewhat. He held up a hand to stop her from talking.

"Selene, it comes along with the territory. I wasn't sure how long it'd take or anything but this is what being married to me is going to be like. You just have to learn to live with it and overcome being in the eye of the media. Sometimes you even have to confront them if it gets too out of control...sometimes you have to release your own statement but the bottom line is that idiots read tabloids. People who have nothing better to do except speculate on someone else's life." Micky explained, at this point, starting to sound raspy again.

Selene didn't try to stop him from talking this time. She figured this was pointless so she let him finish what he was saying.

"Could we just not talk about it now?" Selene asked after a few moments. Micky nodded and emptied the contents of the bag onto the table pushing a burger toward Selene.

"Yes, I think eating is a great idea." She said, taking the burger.

As Micky ate his food, she noticed that he did seem to be experiencing some discomfort from his throat and as she had predicted, he finished the burger but wasn't able to eat more than three onion rings leaving the rest for her.

After they had finished eating, Selene thought it would be a good idea for Micky to get out a bit. After clearing it with the nurse, she returned to the room and informed Micky that they had told her it was ok for her to take him outside for a little while.

"I'd like to go outside for a little while." Micky said. Selene handed him a light jacket to wear over the hospital gown. Even though it was a fairly warm day, it was breezy. Selene pushed Micky and his attached IV down the hall into the elevator and then exited the hospital to a garden area that was actually designed as a smoking area for patients and their families. No one was there at the moment.

"It's pretty out here." Selene said, trying to make conversation. Micky nodded in agreement.

"Forgive me for not talking, it's just that this still kind of hurts a little." Micky said, this time in a hesitant whisper.

Selene realized that he was trying not to complain about this pain because he felt guilty doing that.

"I know it hurts. It's ok. Just drink lots of water and try not to talk too much until you feel better." She advised.

"Wait here, I'll go back in there and get you some bottled water. I saw a vending machine." Selene said, then walked back in the door.

Once Selene was gone, Micky sat there pondering the current state of his life. He had a wife that he loved very much and was the happiest he'd ever been in his life in that respect but on the other hand, he was somewhat trapped in a disabled body and it had seriously changed his life. He didn't want to dwell on the bad things because that would just depress him. Knowing that he was in the hospital right now for detox was hard enough for him to cope with. He had really screwed up this time. Micky sat at the table with his face in his hands and partially running his fingers through his hair in thought about the matter.

"Hi." Said a voice from across the table. Micky looked up to see a little boy standing opposite him. The little boy had blond hair and brown eyes and somewhat reminded Micky of himself whenever he was a child. The little boy was dressed in a hospital gown and looked as if he wasn't getting around too well but was recovering.

"My mom said I could come outside for a little while." The boy said to Micky.

And before Micky could respond the boy said "I'm James. What's your name?"

"Hi James, I'm Micky." He said to the little boy trying to be nice but really wanting to just be left alone.

"I had to have my appendix taken out." James explained to Micky. They cut me here." He pointed to the right side of his lower abdomen indicating the incision. "They popped." He continued.

"I hope you're feeling better now." Micky said, smiling at the boy.

"No not really, It kinda hurts." James said. "I can't go back to school for a couple of weeks." He said.

Just then someone else walked around the hedge that was in the garden area. "James, who are you talking to? Don't bother..." The woman stopped in her tracks after she realized that her son was talking to Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. The Monkees had been on of her favorite groups and she had always wanted to see them. Not in a hospital but in concert. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to talk to one of them.

"Mr. Dolenz, hi, I'm Pam, James' mom. I'm sorry if he bothered you." She said as she put her hands on the shoulders of her child.

"No not at all." Micky said trying to make his voice sound as normal as possible. It was coming back but it wasn't all the way there yet. It hurt.

"Please have a seat." He told them indicating one of the chairs across the table.

Pam sat down but James walked over to stand beside Micky.

"Mom, this is Micky." James said with some excitement in his voice. I found him sitting here all by himself and thought I'd come cheer him up!"

Micky couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside after the kid said something like that and leaned over to give James a hug. "Thanks for cheering me up." He said to James.

Pam smiled at Micky. "Thanks for talking to him. We just lost his dad in a car accident and then he had to have surgery so things haven't been all that great for us lately." He felt sorry for the single mother sitting in front of him after hearing the details of her story.

"So what brings you here if you don't mind my asking?" Pam said to Micky.

"Long story. I had an accident too several months back which left me like this" he explained indicating the wheelchair. "And then I had to come back from some complications of recovery, pain and the like." He continued.

Pam listened in astonishment. She couldn't believe that someone who once seemed so vibrant and full of life even back in the 1980s whenever he was in his 40s and she was a fan could end up like this. She could still see the same vibrant personality.

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." She said, not really knowing what to say.

"Mommy, do you know Micky? You knew his name whenever you came over before I even told you." James said to her after a few moments.

"6 year olds, they notice everything." Pam said to Micky and then told James "Micky's a famous singer, James. He sings I'm A Believer. You like that song."

"So you have a Monkees collection?" Micky asked.

Pam grinned a little bit and then said "Micky, you're one of my favorite entertainers and yes, I have quite the collection. James even likes some of The Monkees tunes. Your voice is amazing!" She added before stopping and realizing that his voice wasn't quite as amazing at that moment. She had just noticed that he was sounding kind of raspy and irritated.

"James, maybe we should leave Mr. Dolenz alone now. He's here because he isn't feeling well." Pam said to her son, although she would have loved to have spent some more time with him.

"Say goodbye to Micky." She told James.

James carefully walked back over to Micky. "Can I have a hug?" He asked. Micky couldn't resist the child and gave him a big hug being careful not to squeeze him after the surgery.

"Bye, Micky." James said as he turned to leave with his mother.

"James." Micky called out. James stopped and turned back around. "You can come and visit me later if you like." Micky told them, waiving at Pam.

"Ok!" James said, instantly happy then turned back toward the door leading inside the hospital.

A few moments later, Selene came back outside.

"Getting visits from your adoring fans even in the hospital, I see!" She said happily as she twisted the top off the bottle of water she had brought back and handed it to Micky.

Micky's throat was parched. He took a bit swallow of water which instantly made him feel better.

"That's much better." He said, now beginning to sound more like his normal self. "The kid's mom recognized me but the kid came over here before she even realized he was talking to anyone. Whenever she came to get him, she recognized me." Micky told Selene, sipping on the water.

"Didn't ask for an autograph or anything?" Selene asked.

"I don't think she had anything to sign even if she'd wanted one." Micky said. "She's having a pretty rough time of things. Her husband was apparently killed in a car accident recently and on top of that, her little boy, James had to have emergency surgery. His appendix ruptured." Micky explained.

"Wow. Sounds like things aren't good for them." Selene commented.

"No, things aren't good for them but I kind of like that kid. He's sweet. I told him he could come and visit me later this evening if he wanted. He's staying on the same floor and I think he's bored." Micky said.

"Well, that'd be nice if we had some visitors later on this evening." Selene told Micky.

"Hey, were you planning on being back at the house anytime today?" Micky asked Selene.

"Not really, why? Did you need something?" She asked.

"No, I was just thinking that it might be a nice gesture if I had something to give James and his mom whenever they stop by later on this evening and there's a box of tour stuff upstairs that was never unpacked. You should find it in back of the closet. Just bring one of everything that's in there and a sharpie." He told her.

"Ok, I can do that. No problem. I'll just use the opportunity to check on things and maybe get you some clothes together for when you leave the hospital so you will have something to wear. They sort of cut your clothes off of you whenever you came in." Selene explained to Micky.

"Damn...was I wearing my Scorpions shirt?" He asked.

"Mmmm hmmm." Selene nodded, knowing that the Scorpions shirt was one of his favorites.

"I'll have to find another one." He grumbled.

Back at the house, Selene had located the box of tour merchandise. She opened it and found a pile of tour shirts from the 30th anniversary tour, key chains, CDs, photos, books, and pins.

"Wow, they had some neat stuff." She thought to herself as she picked out the items as Micky had asked.

Next she went through Micky's closet and picked out some comfortable clothes to take back to him. A pair of sweat pants and a matching sweat shirt. She also decided that she'd take a pair of jeans just in case he felt like wearing that as well. Just then she remembered that he wasn't wearing shoes whenever he left the house and picked up his tennis shoes on the way back out.

Selene couldn't find the sharpie that he had requested so she decided to stop at the local supermarket and just buy one.

Before she left the house, she decided to take a look around the back yard to see if she could find any evidence of anyone being there to take pictures. She tried to situate herself in the same area of the vantage point used by the photographer who had captured the pictures from a few days earlier of her and Micky in the back yard walking around. She carefully looked over the surrounding shrubs, around the area and on the ground. She began looking at the soil underneath the shrubs and managed to locate a footprint. And then two, and three and a trail leading off into the yard next door. Whoever was doing this was apparently coming in from next door where Selene used to live before moving in with Micky. The tracks were clearly going back into that yard. Selene investigated further but didn't find any real evidence that would positively ID anyone as being in the yard. She just knew that someone had been there but that wasn't any more than they knew previously. With that, she decided to return to the hospital with the things she had picked up at the house.

Later that afternoon, Selene, Micky, Pam and James all had dinner compliments of the hospital in the hospital cafeteria. It didn't boast wonderful food but the conversation was enjoyable. Micky seemed to be enjoying having the company of the little boy. James seemed rather amused with his new found friend. After they finished their food Micky smiled at Selene.

"You think they're ready for their surprise?" He said to her.

She nodded and smiled "I'll be right back." She told them.

She exited the room and then returned shortly afterward with a bag containing the tour merchandise and Sharpie. She had also picked up a one time use camera at the store as her own idea because she figured that Pam and James would enjoy having something to remember the occasion by. She put the box on the table in front of Micky and handed him the Sharpie.

"Monkees things for everyone!" She said

Pam was hysterical to tears with this. She hadn't had enough money to purchase such things back whenever she was a fan and never dreamed of meeting Micky Dolenz in a personal setting-much less in the hospital.

Micky handed Pam the 30th anniversary tour shirt featuring 3 of the four Monkees faces and their neon guitar logo on the front, tour dates on the back. "This is for you." He said.

Pam was obviously excited to get these things. "I don't know what to say..." She stammered. "Thank you!" finally came out.

"You're very welcome, dear." Micky said with a smile.

And for you James, I have some CDs, a keychain and a photo." Micky said as he autographed the CD and the photo.

Selene stood by with the camera taking a few pictures of the whole event for them. Once all of the items were distributed, Selene set the camera on the table and joined them.

"I don't know how I could ever thank you enough." Pam told Micky. "We've had a hard time recently and being here with you made it easier to cope with in some ways. It brought back memories of a happier time in my life and I can draw strength from that." She explained.

Micky placed his hand on hers. "I really hope things start going better for you, Pam and little James too."

"We're going to go grab some food from the hospital cafeteria." Selene said. "Could you hang out here with James for a few minutes?" Pam asked him.

"I'd be happy to." He said, smiling and patting James on the head.

After everyone was gone, James carefully moved from his chair and walked over to Micky. "Thank you for making my mommy smile." James said in a most sincere tone. "She hasn't smiled or laughed in a really long time." He indicated.

Micky felt sorry for James who would now have to grow up without a father and who was having such a hard time of things. Before he realized it, James suddenly grabbed onto Micky and gave him a hug and began to cry a little bit.

"I wish you could be my new daddy." James said through some tears.

Micky wanted to scoop the little boy up and comfort him with a hug. He knew the feeling of having to be the man of the house and realized that even at his young age, James was experiencing this sense of protectiveness for his mother now that his father was gone and probably hadn't let out his emotions too often. Micky guided James around in front of the wheelchair, picked him up and sat him on his lap then wrapped his arms around the boy in a comforting hug.

"It'll be alright, just let it out. It's good to express your emotions." Micky encouraged.

After a short while, James calmed down and stopped crying.

"You know, whenever I had this accident" Micky began. "It was really hard for me to move past it and still is but sometimes things take courage and I think you have a lot of that." He told James. "But I think I am on my way to overcoming it and that's what you have to do too. You have to over come your father's death."

James sat on Micky's lap, listening as he spoke to him. Just then, Selene and Pam came back carrying two trays of food with 2 plates each. The four of them sat at a table chatting and enjoying their meal as much as one could expect to enjoy a meal from the hospital for the next hour or so then said goodbye for the night.

The next morning, Micky was told that he would be discharged since he had shown no signs of relapse and had recovered fully from the drug overdose. As he and Selene packed up what few things he had brought to the room and prepared to check out of the hospital, something told him that he should stop by to visit James before he left. He'd probably never see the kid again but it felt like the right thing to do.

Micky rolled down the hallway to the room where Pam had indicated James was staying and tapped on the door. The door was opened but he just wanted to announce himself before he just barged in.

"Hi Micky!" James said with obvious excitement but at the same time with a bit of restraint due to the surgery he had experienced.

"Good morning, James!" Micky said happily and nodded toward Pam as well.

"I'm going home today but I wanted to stop and see you before I left." Micky said to James. "I got something for you." He added, picking up the stuffed teddy bear from his lap and handing it to James.

"Thank you." James said as he took the teddy bear, set it aside then hugged Micky.

"I'm glad you feel better but I'll miss you." James said.

"Yes, Micky, thank you for everything!" Pam said also draping her arm around his shoulders in a loose hug.

Micky's heart sank. He knew that he would probably never see the boy again under normal circumstances but something told him that it was probably a good idea to maintain contact with this family and that he could be of some help to someone else if he did.

"Tell you what, James! You can come by and visit me anytime you're in the area." Micky said as he scribbled down an address and phone number on a piece of paper he found on a nearby table and tore it off handing it to Pam. "Just don't share it with anyone." He requested.

Pam was visibly stunned beyond any normal stretch of the imagination. Micky Dolenz had just handed her his phone number and home address and told them to stop by sometime.

"Thank you!" was all she could say.

They all said their goodbyes and Micky returned home before noon that day.


	22. Chapter 22

The Man Next Door

(Part 21)

As Selene pushed Micky's wheelchair toward the door she felt the cool breeze hit her skin. It was becoming cooler now. Summer was fading into fall and it would be getting chilly soon. She would have to unpack some of her cool weather clothing as much as she didn't want to.

"It's going to start getting cooler." Selene said as she shivered a bit at the cool brush of the wind.

"Yeah, it gets pretty chilly down here at times in the fall and winter." Micky replied.

"I'd just love to live somewhere that stays warm year round." Selene added as the couple approached the door and entered the house.

"Something on one level would be nice." Micky added.

"That'd be really nice." Selene agreed.

"Be right back. I need to go back and get a few more things out of the car." She said as she went back outside.

Micky had a few items on his lap that he had brought in. He still felt like he had the scent of hospital stuff all over him even though he had taken a shower earlier in the day and otherwise felt clean. He wanted another shower, perhaps with something that was aromatic to kill the scent of hospital that had infiltrated his clothing and person. The smell alone triggered bad memories for him and at times, flashbacks. It was nearly all he could do to keep himself under control whenever he thought he was about to experience one of these flashbacks. As time had went on, he had been able to remember more details about the accident just before he blacked out and woke up in the hospital. Sadly, these details were extremely traumatic for him and he wanted to block them out. They were frighteningly traumatic.

Micky placed the clothing items that he had brought into the house in the hamper to be washed even though he hadn't even worn some of the items and then returned to the door where Selene had brought the rest of the items from the hospital into the house.

"I think I'm going to take a shower." Micky announced.

"Sounds good." Selene said as she organized the items that she had just brought back in.

Micky rolled off to the 1st floor shower with the shower chair that he had been using nearly the whole time he'd lived in this two story house. He turned on the hot water first thing to give it plenty of time to warm up and get steamy before he undressed and got into the shower. He had been having less difficulty now that he had been slightly more mobile in the past few weeks for which he was thankful but still yet, he wasn't back to full form and didn't know if he ever would be or not. He wondered about that a lot. It absorbed his thoughts almost on a constant basis whenever he wasn't with Selene. He wondered if he would ever be able to lead a normal life again, if he would be able to enjoy life to the fullest again and most of all whether or not he would ever be able to give Selene the life she deserved and the life he wanted to give her. He mulled over all of these things as he stared down at his legs that were still only partially functional and only with the use of heavy leg braces and a walker. He decided right then and there to engage more rigorously in whatever therapy that he could get involved in that would improve his mobility.

Micky opened the shower and allowed an enormous steam cloud to waft out into the room as he entered the shower. The sting of the water felt wonderful. He could feel the scent of hospital melting off his body as he sat under the water. There were still places where he had no feeling but he could feel the water in other places. He used to hate the shower because of not being able to feel the water from the waist down but now he had learned to love it because he could feel it and he had been improving over the past few weeks more than previous.

As he sat on the shower chair letting the water pour over his body, he closed his eyes and found himself giving thought to the warmer location that Selene had entertained earlier. They were both happy where they were in California but the 2 story house had proven to be quite a problem when it came to Micky's injuries. The truth of the matter was that he really had lost hope of completely and fully recovering from the injury he had suffered and therefore, he may one day be able to use the stairs but it would still complicate things. He'd find life much easier in a house where everything was on one level. After some consideration of the idea, he had decided that they would go out in search of another home soon.

That night over dinner, Micky seemed a little happier than usual.

"What are you thinking about?" Selene asked him after casually observing that little smile that he had been flashing which was clearly unintentional and indicated that he was thinking about something.

"When you mentioned having a one level house in a warmer place earlier today I had thought about it and I think it'd be a good idea so I'd..."

"Are you serious?" Selene asked, raising her eyebrows in obvious excitement.

"Yes, love." Micky replied, smiling sweetly.

"But what about this place?" She asked.

"It'll sell fairly quickly." He indicated.

Over the course of the next couple of days, the two of them searched the internet and other sources for places they were interested in until Micky found one that was perfect.

"Would you like to take a little road trip, darling?" Micky asked Selene as he sat in front of this computer looking at the house they were interested in.

"To Phoenix?" She said, half expecting them to find something else in California since he'd lived there all of his life and she had too, for the most part.

"Yes, Phoenix as in Arizona." Micky indicated smiling.

"But I'll have to find another job and..." Micky hushed her.

"Don't worry about it. In case you haven't already noticed, you've hardly had to work and we're doing just fine on my income." He said once again with a smile.

Selene immediately relaxed realizing that Micky was right.

"Ok, I'm in!" She said, her arm draped around his shoulders.

A few days later, they had the car packed up and ready for their trip. They had intentionally packed light so that they would have extra room in the vehicle for anything they might want to bring back with them. The sun had just peeked over the horizon whenever Selene backed the Mercedes out of the driveway. There was still a chill to the air. They both had on light jackets. Selene was dressed somewhat retro 50s style with a silk scarf loosely wrapped around her head. Micky thought she looked smashing driving the Mercedes with that look. She didn't need any makeup. She was perfect.

The couple headed East toward their destination down the desert highway. A couple of hours later, the sun blistered down upon the black Mercedes.

"It sure got warm in a hurry." Selene commented as she drove the Mercedes down the long, straight road.

"Yeah, it does that in the desert. Just keep an eye on the dash and make sure the car isn't overheating." Micky warned.

Selene smiled at how Micky always thought of everything.

"Just a few more hours and we'll be in Phoenix!" Selene said excitedly.

It was nearly a 5 hour drive one way from where they had left earlier in the morning. Once they were in the desert, Selene put the pedal down and was driving nearly 100 MPH in the Mercedes in order to cut down on the travel time. There were no police officers in this part of the desert. There was nothing else there either. It was just open highway for hundreds of miles.

"This reminds me of my younger days." Micky said as he rested his head on the back of the seat. "Back in those days, it was nothing to shoot down a stretch of road at 100 MPH!" Micky said as he rolled his head toward Selene to look at her and smile. "Because we had real cars back then, ones with big gas guzzling engines and four barrel carburetors."

"You hungry?" Selene asked Micky.

"I could eat something...yeah, food sounds good." He replied.

"According to the map, there should be a small town up the road. Maybe they've got some eating places." Selene told him as she handed him the map she had previously placed on the dash.

"Right there." She pointed and indicated.

"Mmmm hmm...looks pretty small. Maybe they have a greasy spoon somewhere down there." He said through laughter.

Selene smiled at that remark. "I haven't heard anyone say that since I lived in North Carolina...and every little place was referred to as a greasy spoon joint over there." She responded.

Selene approached the town and could see that there were several farms around, a ranch or two and then a main street. There was a bank, a general store, a post office and a saloon...at least it had the appearance of a saloon. It was called Buck's Bar & Grill.

"Wow, this place looks just like something out of Bonanza!" Micky commented as the clearly out of place Mercedes rolled down the main road.

Selene nodded in agreement. Most of the other cars that were parked around the place were older models or pick up trucks. There were only a few motorcycles.

"We should have brought my car for this." Selene said to Micky. "We're going to be out of place in this thing." She added.

They both laughed. Selene cruised the streets in the now somewhat dusty Mercedes. She did notice a few locals who happened to be gathering out in front of the local bank who stopped to gawk at the Mercedes as it drove through but figured that everything would be alright. She decided to park the Mercedes in the rear parking lot of Buck's to minimize the chance that someone might recognize Micky and in order to give him just a bit more privacy while he transferred into his chair. They wanted to just get in and out and back on their way. It was way too hot to leave him in the car with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees. The car heated up like an oven the moment the AC was turned off.

She went around to the trunk and got out the folding wheelchair that Micky had been confined to for the past 8 months and rolled it around to his side of the car. Once he was seated, Selene proceeded to push the chair toward the front of the restaurant.

Micky looked up at her and for a brief second she sensed pain with that look. She stopped.

"Would it be ok if you didn't push me around?" He asked her.

"Sure, honey." She said and stopped pushing the chair. She moved to walk beside him. As the two of them made their way around the front of the store from the parking lot they soaked in the hot desert sun. It didn't take long to get really hot out there.

As they rounded the corner, they noticed yet another restaurant across the street that they had somehow missed on the way in. This one was called "Molly's" and looked a little more tame than Buck's. They decided to go there instead. It was set up in the fashion of a 1950s diner. There was a jukebox on one wall, a bar in the front and booths everywhere else. The place had large windows that were covered with some sort of tint film to keep the sun's rays at bay.

Micky and Selene went in and found a booth. The place was pretty spacious which was good for ease of getting the wheelchair in and out.

"You'd like to sit in the booth, wouldn't you?" Selene said to Micky as he rolled up to the end of the table.

"It has been a long time since I sat in a booth." He acknowledged.

"Well, why don't you just slip right in here?" Selene said as she slid out from where she had just sit down so that she could take care of the chair whenever Micky got out of it.

"Nah, it'd be too much trouble." Micky said.

"Nonsense!" Selene said, taking his hand. "Come on"

Micky didn't really want to eat his lunch in the chair so he did transfer himself over to the booth with Selene's help. She then folded the chair and put it out of the way and slid in beside Micky.

"Now, isn't this cozy?" She asked him with a smile.

"Very!" He replied with a snicker just before his hand slipped down to her thigh and squeezed.

She shot him a look of passion.

"I'm Alice, would you like something to drink?" She asked. The two of them looked up from their menu to see a rather small stature woman who appeared to be in her mid thirties dressed in shorts and a blouse with a short white apron tied around her waist.

"Two Cokes" Micky said without hesitation.

"I'll bring that right out." Alice said then left in quite a hurry to get back to the kitchen that was behind the double doors past the bar.

"Do you know who just came in!?" Alice said to the other waitresses.

"Micky Dolenz!" She announced, hardly able to contain herself and maintain composure.

"He's sitting right out there in that booth with that lady!" She went on.

"Alice, calm down, sweety!" Another waitress said as she peeked through the round window in the door out into the dining area.

"Oh my God, he's still good lookin'!" Sandra said aloud.

"No kidding!" Alice agreed.

Finally their cook, Margaret came over to see what all the fuss was about. Margaret was in her 50s, was older, married and had no tendency to chase after men or even comment on them.

"What are you all swooning about today?" She asked as she drew nearer to the window in the door to take a look for herself.

"Holy cow!" She said after she got her first look at who was sitting in her dining room.

"Do you all know who that is?!" She said in an almost commanding voice.

The girls nodded and smiled.

With that, they witnessed something rare. Margaret actually began to swoon over Micky.

"I used to kiss pictures of him on my wall and wish I could marry him one day. I never thought in a million years that he'd come in here and sit down at one of my tables!" She said with sheer excitement.

Alice took the drinks to their table.

Immediately Selene and Micky took a big drink.

"That's perfect, really hits the spot after being in this weather for the past few hours." Micky said to Alice.

"So, what can I get for you today?" Alice said, trying to pretend that she had no idea that he was a celebrity.

"I think we'll both try the cheese mushroom bacon swiss burger." Micky told her. "And maybe throw in some of those beer battered onion rings." Selene added.

"Will do!" Alice said as she turned around to walk back into the kitchen with the order. It was at that time that she noticed that the wheelchair had been sitting just behind their booth and thought it odd but really paid no mind to it.

Whenever she returned back to the kitchen she found Sandra and Margaret still chattering about Micky Dolenz being in their diner. The mood had changed a little.

"Yeah, he was in a bad accident last year sometime and now he can't walk. He's crippled." Sandra told Margaret in a gossipy tone.

"Are you serious?" Margaret asked. Sandra responded by pointing through the window at the wheelchair that was folded and parked behind the booth they were sitting in.

"He came in here in that. How else do you think it got there?" Sandra said then added "He sure didn't walk through that door."

"And who's that lady with him?" Alice asked.

"It's probably his nurse, Margaret said with a tinge of sympathy in her voice."

Alice and Sandra seemed to lose immediate interest in him after they realized his broken condition. Margaret just felt sorry for him but still wanted to meet him. With that, she filled the order and didn't even asked Alice or Sandra to take it out, she took it out herself.

"Thank you" Micky said, flashing a genuine smile at Margaret.

"You're welcome, Mr. Dolenz!" She said sincerely then turned to walk back, not wanting to disturb his meal.

Micky sensed her desire to talk with him beyond just serving his food.

"Miss..." He called out. Margaret spun around and gave him her full and undivided attention.

"Would you like to sit down?" He motioned to the other side of the again with a gentle smile. "You look like you could use a break and we'd like to find out more about the area"

Without saying another word, she plopped down on the other side of the booth in front of Micky and Selene. Obviously happy with her accomplishment and beaming.

"What brings you here?" She asked immediately.

"We were just driving through on our way to Phoenix." Micky answered.

She nodded in fascination.

"That's a nice car you...I mean your nurse-drove in." Margaret said, having somehow noticed the black Mercedes whenever it passed by.

"Oh, I'm not his nurse, I'm his wife." Selene said calmly correcting the older lady.

"You're married?" Margaret said in astonishment.

Micky nodded and caught Selene's hand in his own and looked at her lovingly.

"For the past little while!" Micky said, this time exuberant with telling the woman about his recent marriage.

"Congratulations...I suppose." Margaret said as she rose up from the table.

"I have to get back to the kitchen, enjoy your meal." She added then headed back toward the kitchen.

Micky and Selene finished their meal. Selene went to the cash register to pay the bill while Micky wrestled a bit with the chair.

"I think your patient needs some help." Sandra said to Selene as she looked past Selene and watched Micky attempting to haul the chair around the corner of the booth.

Selene felt anger welling up in her at the patient remark, but she let it go. She could tell that there was a tone of sarcasm in the voice of the cashier whenever she said that. In fact, the people around this place had a really weird demeanor. At least she thought so. She hadn't had time to ask Micky what he thought about it.

She didn't tip the waitress just because of her haughty remarks about Micky being her patient. Hopefully Micky hadn't heard that remark but he was within earshot.

Selene returned to Micky who had by now managed to get seated in the chair and was arranging his feet so that they looked natural on the footrests.

She grasped the chair and forcefully pushed it toward the door where they had entered and left the place.

"Honey, what's wrong? Calm down!" Micky said. It was a great wonder that the man wasn't fearfully gripping the chair by now given the way she was plowing past everything in a beeline for the car. "Selene, baby, stop!" He said to her after she ignored his first comments.

"That woman in there just pissed me off. That's all. I just wanted to be away from that place." She told him.

"She kept saying I was your nurse and you were my patient and it was almost like she was getting some sort of kick out of watching you." Selene said.

"Well, if it makes you any happier, I didn't leave an autograph or a tip on the table anywhere." Micky told her in an attempt to lighten her mood.

"What was wrong with those people anyway?!" She lashed out aloud just before they got to the car.

"I mean they talked about you like you were some sort of pitiful man who couldn't do anything for himself who had to be taken care of and whenever I told that old woman that we were married, why, she just looked like she was about to fall off that bench and die!" Selene spewed.

"It was like she couldn't imagine anyone being married to a disabled person! It's just mean that the whole bunch of them acted like that. It's like they'd never even seen a disabled person before!" She added.

"But I am pitiful at times and I can't do lots of things for myself. That's one reason I am so thankful to have you around. You take care of me, baby and I wouldn't be as well as I am if I didn't have you. I'd probably be rotting somewhere in some sort of rehab center or something-a nursing home even... And you love me while you're doing it. I don't know how you do it." Micky told her sincerely and glanced down at his legs as they lay on the hot car seat that he was unable to feel the full sensation of at the time. Selene took the liberty of putting his legs into the car and arranging his feet during her anger without even realizing that she was doing something for Micky that he usually done for himself.

"You're not pitiful, you can do anything you want and I love you no matter what condition you're in. You're a wonderful man." She told him, kneeling beside the open car door, leaning in to kiss him.

Apparently he decided to put on a show for anyone who might be watching and pulled her into the car onto his lap into a much deeper kiss.

"Are we feeling a little frisky today?" She said as she pulled out of the kiss.

"See, I can still do things." Micky said with a devilish grin. He knew in his mind that this just wasn't true. This dampened his mood slightly when he thought of how he wasn't able to return the sexual favor to Selene of satisfying her desires the way she satisfied his.

Selene liked that devilish grin of his. It was wicked awesome and sent her blood boiling every time she saw it.

Once she got into the car, the top went down and they were in Phoenix a few hours later. It was close to 3 PM whenever they finally made it to Phoenix.

"I think I'll call about the house we were going to look at." Micky said as he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.

After a few moments he was done with the phone.

"They said we can come over whenever we want to and look at it." He said.

"We should get checked into the hotel first." Selene said.

Micky agreed so the two of them got out of the car. Selene stacked a suitcase on Micky's lap and held the overnight bag that she'd packed, closed the trunk, put the top up on the car and pushed Micky into the hotel.

Once they were in their room, they changed into nicer clothes and left again to go look at the house.

Selene drove the Mercedes along the long driveway leading up to the house that they would be looking at. It was away from town and isolated enough to be quiet but still close enough so that it was only minutes away from downtown Phoenix. As she saw the house in the distance, she noted that it was made of white stucco with terracotta roofing. It was built in the style of a hacienda and looked very well maintained on the exterior. As they drew closer, she could see a red BMW sitting in front of the house. This was probably the realtor's car since they knew no one was currently living in the house. The owner had apparently passed away recently and had left the house to his son who was selling it because he lived in New York City and didn't want to continue the upkeep. There were many plants decorating the front entrance of the home along with many clay pots that very clearly were hand crafted by Indians. The place had a serene essence to it and was almost like a calm oasis in the middle of the desert. For miles you could see desert.

A tall lanky man came out on the front porch to greet them as they arrived.

"I'm Bradley Stafford and I'll be showing you the house this evening!" He said with an almost feigned excitement. He seemed to have a homosexual demeanor about him and was acting somewhat frilly but Micky and Selene ignored this and proceeded with looking at the house.

"Handicap accessible..." Selene noted as they went through the front door into a foyer which opened up to reveal a grand staircase that led up to a second floor.

"Don't let the stairs scare you off from the house, there's an elevator around the corner." Bradley indicated with a wave of his hand and a smile. "The entire house is accessible. The previous owner had the entire house remodeled to be wheelchair accessible. He even had therapy equipment installed that comes with the house. He seemed to think that he would walk again after the accident he had." Bradley continued, waving his hand around as he talked.

"That's...nice." Selene said as she walked through the foyer and glanced around.

The house was shaped like a U so she could either go left or right. The upstairs, she presumed was shaped the same way. Directly behind the grand staircase was a large wall of windows that let light pour into the room. In addition to the high ceiling and skylights in the second floor, the foyer was very well lit from outside light. To the right was the dining room and beyond that, the kitchen. To the left was a living room and beyond that a room that still had a full size pool table from the previous owner.

"That's a nice feature." Micky said, indicating the pool table.

"I didn't know you enjoyed shooting pool." Selene said.

"I used to." he replied.

She didn't know if that was a crack at his own disability or if he seriously meant that he used to do it and just hadn't done it in recent years. Either way, she didn't remark about it.

Bradley directed them into the kitchen, showing off all of the amenities it provided. Everything was there that anyone could possibly want in their kitchen including one whole wall of lowered counter tops with open space underneath so that a wheelchair could easily access the counter.

Next Bradley directed them upstairs by way of the elevator. It was plenty large enough for at least 5 people to ride comfortably.

The elevator came to a halt on the second floor just beside where the grand staircase ascended. This wall too was nearly all window that overlooked the back patio. At either end of the hallway, there was a bedroom complete with its own full bathroom. A study also existed on the second floor. This room was a smaller room but was plenty large enough for an office space. Each room in the house had large windows that would allow light to flow in. Off of each bedroom, there was a balcony that also overlooked the back patio and was closed off by sliding doors.

"Could we go down there?" Selene pointed through the window down to the patio.

"Certainly!" Bradley said as they went back down in the elevator.

"I was just saving the best for last!" He added as they went out through the sliding doors on the 1st floor.

This opened up into a large patio area that overlooked miles of desert and faced westward. There was a pool in the center of the patio which was connected to a whirlpool. The entire area was rigged with a pulley and harness system. In addition to this, there were several pieces of equipment around. One section of the patio was covered by a roof. This was the sauna. Another section in the other corner was filled with all sorts of training equipment such as weights, parallel bars and what looked like a massage table. Still yet, there was another area on the opposite side of the pool where there was a nice sitting area complete with a glass top table, chairs and an umbrella in the center of the table.

Selene was still in amazement looking around the patio area at all it had to offer. Micky had already decided that he wanted the house without consideration of anything else because he had full intentions of using the available equipment for his own home therapy program to get back on his feet.

"All of this comes with the house?" He asked again just to be sure.

"Yes sir! Everything you see here comes with it!" the over-zealous realtor said.

"I'll take it." Micky said without even asking Selene about it first. He could tell she liked it. She had went over to the opposite side of the pool to check out the table and view.

"I want to move in immediately." Micky told the realtor.

"Fine, fine. I can have the keys in your hand by the end of the week." He assured Micky.


	23. Chapter 23

The Man Next Door

(Part 24)

Only the sounds of the city were heard off in the distance as Micky cracked his eyes open at the first light of dawn. He still felt groggy from a good night's sleep and didn't really want to get out of bed. Furthermore, Selene was neatly placed across his mid section with her head resting on his shoulder. Micky looked lovingly at her and still wondered how he'd managed to land himself such a good woman. Such a perfect woman. He was starting to feel somewhat sorry for himself again yet motivated more than ever to buy that house that they had looked at and get started training on that equipment that the previous owner had left behind. He wanted to walk again. This was almost some sort of a blessing in disguise-or perhaps a curse. He wasn't sure which but whatever it was, he would use it to the best of his abilities and advantage.

After breakfast, Micky and Selene went out. Micky had already arranged the electronic transfer of money to the realtor for the house and would pick up the deed and the keys soon. He was very glad that he had cancelled the construction of the house that he had wanted to build previously before it got started. He really liked the idea of getting away from California and getting a new place. This one was perfect.

"Phoenix has some really nice places." Selene said as the two of them drove around the downtown area and took it all in.

"Yeah, lots of neat places to see. It'll take us a while to get around to all of them there's so many." Micky replied.

There was a short silence. Micky felt compelled to tell Selene about the house but he didn't want to have to do it here, in the car. He wanted to do it over lunch or something like that.

"Hey Selene…" Micky said. "Would you like to have lunch with me today?" He asked.

"I thought that was already a given. Of course I'd like lunch with you today, love!" She said having not caught the slight oddity of his question.

"Well, I'd kind of like to find a nice place somewhere and have a picnic or something." He told her as they continued down one of the main roads in the downtown Phoenix shopping district.

"That sounds really nice. We haven't done that since we visited Davy in Pennsylvania a while back. I really enjoyed it whenever we done that." She said.

"Well, there's probably not going to be any horseback riding involved here in Phoenix but we could still go somewhere and enjoy it." Micky said.

"I saw a park back down the road a ways." Selene told him. "I think I could find it again." She added.

"Ok, then. We'll do that, love." Micky agreed, taking her right hand in his left hand as they continued driving down the road.

Selene pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store and skillfully whipped the Mercedes into a parking place that was located beside the handicapped parking place. The car didn't have handicap parking permits and Micky didn't particularly want them. It was just one more thing to make him feel disabled.

"We should go in and get some things to take on our picnic." Selene said as she put the car in park and went to open the door.

"Selene." Micky said.

She stopped what she was doing, picked up her foot that was already outside the car and give Micky her full attention.

"I think I'm going to wait here and just listen to the radio or something while you go in and get that. I'll be alright. I'll put the top down." He told her.

She leaned across the car and kissed him on the cheek. "Ok sexy! I'll be back soon."

Micky watched as Selene walked toward the grocery store's sliding doors. What he wouldn't give to be able to walk in there with her, his arm wrapped around hers or his arm around her waist. He still felt that he wasn't fulfilling all of his role as Selene's husband and this motivated him even more to try and rehabilitate himself.

It was at that moment that Micky noticed something across the parking lot. A black Sunfire pulled in and parked straight across the lot from his car. He didn't see anything readily that would signal anything odd but he got an odd vibe from it nonetheless.

Micky went ahead with his plan of putting the top down in the car and listening to the radio. Micky leaned back in the seat put on his aviator sunglasses and closed his eyes while waiting for Selene. 20 minutes later, Selene returned to the car.

"Hey Micky, could you pop the trunk?" She asked as she walked around with a couple of plastic bags that she wanted to put into the trunk.

Without saying anything he pressed the button on the key chain that was hanging from the ignition switch.

"Thanks honey." Selene said as she placed the groceries into the car, closed the trunk and came around to Micky's side of the car sliding along the door in a sexy way while she leaned in to kiss him on the lips.

"You look really nice with those shades. Did I ever tell you that?" She said in her best bedroom voice.

"No, babe, you never told me that but I'll wear them more often." Micky said, happy nearly instantly with her attention. She strutted around by way of the front of the car to her side stopping at the front and propping her right foot up on the hood to re-tie her tennis shoes but with the more obvious intention of showing Micky a little leg and a lot of thigh and maybe a little bit of ass in the process as her shorts rode way up whenever she put her leg up. She gave him a foxy look at the same time then came the rest of the way around the car and hopped over the door landing in the seat beside Micky.

You have perfect legs, love! "Micky told her. "You might burn them on the car if you keep acting like a hood ornament." Micky joked as he plopped his hand down on her thigh and rubbed upward.

"Let's go back to the hotel and put together our lunch then head back to the park." Selene said as she started the car and exited the parking lot.

Once they were back at their hotel, Micky bought in the bags on his lap and helped Selene take the items out of the bag. As it turned out, she got the items she would need to make the same chicken salad sandwiches she had made in Pennsylvania for everyone that were so popular and then tossed in something a little different.

"A&W Root Beer." Micky said aloud as he pulled out a 6 pack of the soda in bottles.

"Yeah, I thought you might like something besides Coke. I like Root Beer too but I try to stay away from it because it's really high in calories and I tend to get carried away with it whenever it's in the house." Selene told him as she proceeded to make sandwiches.

"You? Going overboard with root beer?" Micky said. "Nah, couldn't be."

Micky approached the counter top where Selene was working on sandwiches and began assisting her in making them. Specifically, he chopped the onion and ended up crying while doing so.

"Wipe your eyes with this." Selene said passing Micky a dry washcloth that she had brought from the bathroom.

He did and it worked.

"I really do not know what I would do without you." He exclaimed and smiled that cute smile that Selene loved so much.

"Well, I've got everything packed up in this bag that we need for a picnic." Selene said.

The two of them once again left their hotel room and got back into the Mercedes then headed back down the main part of town to the park area that Selene had spotted earlier.

"This is a nice place." Selene said as she slowed down the car and turned into the park. There were lots of trees at the entrance and around the parameter of the place to give the impression that it was nestled in the middle of the wilderness rather than in the middle of a busy city. The park was very large and had several walking trails both dirt and paved. There were also several picnic areas splashed along the place.

Selene parked the car, fetched Micky's chair out of the trunk and brought it around to the side of the car along with the picnic bag and a blanket that she had also put in the trunk. Once Micky was in the chair the two of them went off down one of the park trails that was paved just to check things out. Selene walked by Micky's side down the trail.

"This is a beautiful place!" Selene said as they made their way down the trail which was partially covered with overhanging trees.

"I'll say!" Micky agreed as he rolled along by her side.

Eventually the two of them came upon a private little place off to the side in a clearing where they decided to have their picnic. Selene put the blanket on the ground and then the bag of food. Micky had already begun lowering himself down on the ground so that he could sit on the blanket with Selene.

Selene went over to his chair after he was out of it and folded it up putting it against a nearby tree. "There, now let's get this picnic going!" Selene said as she sat down on the blanket to join Micky.

Before Selene knew what was going on, Micky had snatched the bag out of her reach and fell on top of her pinning her to the ground kissing her passionately on the lips and running his hands up and down her body stopping a few times to squeeze her breasts briefly. Through his kisses he said "Baby, you're the best thing ever and I love you so much."

Selene moaned with pleasure as she allowed Micky to be all over her, kiss her and enjoy her body.

This went on for the next several minutes until Micky thought he heard something and suddenly looked up from what he was doing.

"What?" Selene asked, realizing that he had noticed something.

"I don't know." Micky said. "I just thought I heard something over there, that's all."

"Maybe it'd be a good idea to continue this later and eat now." Selene said as she grinned at Micky.

"Right" Micky agreed. "Later." He said in that sexy tone he used whenever he was turned on.

Micky still thought he had heard something somewhere a while ago but just let it go and ate the chicken salad sandwich Selene had made for them. Micky had been sitting up the majority of the time but after he finished off the sandwich and the first root beer, he decided to crack open another root beer and drink that one laying on his side against Selene.

Selene looked down into his sunglass covered eyes which at this point looked like two mirrored windows on his face and suddenly turned around and looked behind herself tossing Micky a bit when she done so.

"What?!" Micky said, propping himself up once again on his hand so that he too could see whatever it was that Selene thought she had seen.

"I could have sworn someone was back there because I saw the tree move." Selene whispered so that only Micky could hear it.

"I don't see anything." He said after looking in that direction for a few seconds.

"Ok, maybe I'm just seeing things or something. I'm not going to let it bother me." Selene told him and motioned for him to return to leaning against her at which point, she draped her arm around him and sipped on her root beer.

"Hey Selene, I've got another little surprise for you." Micky said, sipping his root beer.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Selene told him.

"This one's kind of a big one that maybe shouldn't have been a surprise for you but I think you'll like it.." He trailed off.

"Well don't stop there!" Selene said excitedly. "Please finish!" She requested.

"Like I said, you should have been a part of this…I bought that house we looked at that had all of the work out equipment." He blurted out.

"Really!" Selene said obviously excited about it and not in the least upset about it.

"Yes, really. And I should have the keys and the deed by the end of the day or sometime tomorrow." Micky added.

"That's great! I'm so glad you decided to buy that. I liked that house a lot." Selene told him.

Micky felt very good knowing that Selene was accepting of his purchase and wasn't upset about it whenever she found out that she had not been involved in it. It was a bit selfish on his part and he realized this now but he really felt that it would be good for him in the long run and for their future.

Selene leaned down to kiss Micky on the forehead. "I love you, Dolenz." She said sweetly. "I'll go wherever the journey takes us"

"Love you too." Micky said as he pulled the shades up above his eyes and perched them on his head so that he could see Selene and she was looking into his eyes.

"I think you have the most beautiful eyes." Selene said taking the last drink of her root beer and then putting the bottle back in to the bag.

Micky smiled up at her. The two of them kissed again.

"You ever watch the sky and see things in the clouds?" Selene asked Micky.

Micky thought about that one for a few seconds before answering. "Um, no, I don't think so." He told her having not been able to recall a time in his life when he had ever done anything like that. His ex wife had never cared about such simple things.

"It's a lot of fun." Selene said as she slid down on her back beside Micky. Micky followed suit and also lied on his back.

"Ok, put your sun glasses back on. The sky's kind of bright." Selene said bringing out a pair of her own that she seldom wore. They made her look very sexy and classy in Micky's opinion.

"Ok, now we just look at the sky and see if we see anything." She told him.

"This is rather relaxing." Micky said as he too looked up at the sky and clouds. There weren't a lot of clouds in the sky but there were a few.

"Look at that one over there." Selene said pointing out a larger cloud.

"Looks like a dolphin." Micky suggested.

"Yeah, I can sort of see that one." Selene replied.

There was a tree nearby. Micky wanted to use this tree to make himself a little more comfortable so he scooted toward it and leaned against it. Selene also scooted over toward the tree, leaning back against Micky so that she was positioned between his legs and his arms were around her.

"I like this a little better, don't you?" Micky asked.

"Yeah, much better." Selene said with a smile over her shoulder at him.

Just then, Micky pulled her face in for a quick kiss which turned into a full blown passionate kiss that lasted for a very long time. Long enough for the dolphin in the sky to disappear.

"I love you so much, baby." Micky said to her in the middle of their kiss.

"I love you too, Mick." Selene said as she pulled her hand down through his hair slightly disarraying his hair band in the process.

When the two of them were quite finished, they resumed watching the sky for a little while longer. Micky was really enjoying this. The simplicity of it all was gratifying for him. He hadn't enjoyed the simple things in life for a long time and Selene was now making that possible for him.

"You know, we've been here for a few hours. We should probably get back to the hotel so that I can meet the realtor and get the keys for our new house." Micky said then added "He said we could move in as soon as we wanted to. I've already called and hired some professional movers to pack and move our stuff from California to Arizona." He finished.

"You mean we don't have to do it ourselves?" Selene said, not being used to having everything handed to her on a silver platter like that. What she had been used to whenever her dad was in the military was living minimal and moving over the course of a weekend themselves. She had learned to be quite the packer and mover during this portion of her life. She had also learned to be somewhat minimalist.

"You're not going to life one pretty little finger to move anything. It will all be taken care of. There's this professional company that I hired the last two times I've moved who do a wonderful job. They will even come in and arrange your stuff for you once it's delivered." Micky continued.

"That sounds wonderful." Selene said.

"Mmmm hmm." Micky replied as he hoisted himself back up into the wheelchair that Selene had brought back around for him. Lately he had been getting just a little bit more use out of his legs during these transfers.

Back at the hotel, Micky had left Selene in their room to pack up their picnic left overs and the other items while he returned to the lobby to meet the realtor. There were several shops down there along with a swanky bar and restaurant. He decided to go window shopping while waiting for the realtor to arrive.

As Micky rolled by the shop windows, he noticed something interesting that infuriated him. On the tabloid rack, there was another magazine that displayed photos of him with Selene on the beach with the headline "Nurse takes disabled Monkee on a hot beach weekend getaway!" Micky didn't want to go in and purchase the magazine to see what else it contained for the sake of being obvious about it. He was curious as to who was taking these photos and why they would care to publish them whenever his career wasn't exactly A-list anymore.

Back in the hotel room, Selene had finished putting away things and decided to sit down on the love seat in the living room area and watch some television. She didn't really know what she would watch but she began flipping channels. She found herself missing Micky and wishing he were there with her. He had already been gone for 30 minutes. She had no idea what could be keeping him unless the realtor was late or something. She wasn't too horribly worried since he wasn't leaving the hotel. He did have his cell phone with him so if she needed to get in touch with him, she could just call him.

After not being able to find anything on television, Selene switched off the TV and went to the mini fridge to see if there was any bottled water. As she rounded the bar in the room to go to the fridge underneath, she noticed it as plain as the nose on her face... A photo from her and Micky's beach trip depicting her on top of Micky rubbing him down with sun screen.

"We didn't take that picture...where'd that come from?" She asked herself aloud, puzzled but then dismissed it as something that Micky might have done to be cute. It was kind of a nice photo after all but she had no idea how he would have taken such a photo or why. Not even why he would have put it there.

Putting off the bottle of water, Selene decided instead to have a shower and refresh herself after being out in the heat all day. She made her way to the bedroom to get her PJs out yet something stopped her in her dead in her tracks.

Trevor was standing in the doorway leading into their bathroom. It was at this point in time that Selene knew that she was in trouble and that Trevor had been following them around the whole time. She also realized then that she probably wasn't hearing or seeing things whenever she thought she had heard something in the bushes near the picnic sight. It was probably him and he probably snapped the picture of them at the beach.

"I warned you, you little slut!" Trevor hissed at Selene.

"I told you to break it off with him or I'd take care of him!" Trevor added.

"Trevor, please leave us alone. I know you don't want to be put back into that mental facility where you were for the past several years. Do you?" Selene said, halfway trying to keep him talking and halfway trying to reason with him while she slowly backed away out of the room.

"I've come to take you back with me." Trevor said to her in an unusually calm voice in comparison to the previous tone.

At this point, Selene's heart was about to pound out of her chest. She had no idea what Trevor would do if she tried to run or what he'd do if she just stood there and kept him talking until Micky returned. She didn't know when Micky would return so she quickly decided that her best option was to run away and try to at least escape into the hallway. She turned and bolted out of the room toward the hallway door.

"His ex wants him dead anyway!" Trevor hissed

Trevor was too fast for her. He managed to leap across the bed and somehow catch her by the shirt she was wearing pulling her down to the ground. Selene attempted to slip out of that shirt but was unsuccessful. At this point Trevor was pinning her down to the ground forcefully and was in the process of putting a gag in her mouth so that she wouldn't make too much noise. After doing this he brought her back up to her feet.

"You will return to the bedroom-NOW!" He ordered as he shoved her forward into the bedroom. He still had not managed to secure her hands but he was holding both her hands behind her back. She was somewhat limited as to what she could do at this point. Selene only made grunting sounds through the gag in protest to his order and resisted his every push until he shoved her onto the bed and came down on top of her.

She could feel his warm putrid breath on the side of her face as he licked her cheek.

"I didn't get to finish what I started with you years ago so I'm going to finish it now." He said with fury in his eyes. "Once I'm finished with you, I'll take care of that cripple you've been screwing!" He added, this time in a tone that sent cold chills through Selene's blood. It nearly sent her into a panic attack that if allowed to persist, would impede her ability to do anything.

Selene knew that Trevor was crazy enough and capable of carrying out all of his threats but she had an idea that just might work. It was a gross one but it would have to do for now in order to buy her time. She would come on to him as hard as that may be and eventually perhaps she'd get somewhere near Micky's suitcase where she knew that he had placed his handgun then she'd use it to control Trevor and turn the tables so that she could escape the room.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable about what she was about to engage in, she began her plot to get to the gun on the other side of the room but in order to do that, she would have to make Trevor believe that he would get what he wanted in the end. She coaxed Trevor to remove the gag.

"Trevor honey, you of all people should realize that I'm just with Dolenz for the money because it sure ain't for the looks or the sex." She said in her best sultry voice.

Trevor was stunned and lessened his grip on her, backed away and managed to tone down the wild look of pure evil and anger that existed in his eyes just a few minutes prior.

"I've been waiting for you to come back to me, baby!" He said in a slightly off kind of tone, as he unbound her hands

Selene by this point had loosened him up and gained his trust. She was surprised at how easily this had come about. With a fast movement, she managed to roll Trevor over onto the bed so that she was on top of him. Now she was somewhat in control of the situation just by being on top and out of his grip from previous.

The position Selene found herself in was disturbing but not so much that as what she knew she would have to do in order to maintain control of the situation. She desperately hated the very thought of touching Trevor, kissing him or even looking at his face. This man had proven that he was so mentally disturbed that it was no slight matter. Selene knew this and how far he was capable of going. He would go all the way. He expected her to go all the way as well.

She couldn't show any sign that what she was doing was all for show or her cover would be blown. With that thought in mind, she bent down close to Trevor so that she could whisper in his ear. "You and I should get together after Dolenz is gone." She said in a mock sexy tone to him.

Trevor's face lit up in that gross, sexually excited way that she just couldn't bring herself to tolerate from any man as he took in the attention he was getting from Selene.

"I want to hump your brains out, baby!" He said suddenly as he reached for her clothing and attempted to remove it.

This caught Selene slightly off guard but she played along adequately enough so that he didn't pick up on any negative vibes. She caught his hand, brought it up to her mouth and kissed it, quietly telling him "not now, but soon enough. I just need a little more time." And then bending lower to kiss him on the lips.

While she was engaged in the kiss she attempted to reach for the hand gun that she had originally set out after from Micky's nearby suitcase but quickly realized that it was still out of her reach and she had no choice but to continue what she was doing until Trevor was thoroughly finished with the kiss that he perceived as a long awaited passionate one.

The main door to the room opened revealing through the opened bedroom door that Micky was back.


	24. Chapter 24

The Man Next Door

(Part 25)

Micky felt the blood drain from his face the instant that he saw his Selene on top of someone else in the hotel bedroom. He simultaneously felt his heart cease to beat for a split second at this sight and sadness, anger and darkness swept over him all at once. He felt a void in his heart rip open like nothing he had ever felt before. He knew at that pivotal moment that this was what it felt like to have the one true love of your life ripped from your arms. It was much more than he could bear. He didn't know what to do, how to act and temporarily lost all sight of any sanity he had previous.

"Micky! Be careful!" Selene screamed out at him the moment he popped through the door in a tone that expressed great fear. It was at that point that Selene was able to take in for a brief moment in time the shattered look on her husband's face. She knew that the sight of what she was doing had hurt him beyond anything that anyone had ever done to him in his entire life.

Micky recognized the terror in Selene's voice and instantly snapped into his defense mode moving toward the room as quickly as possible in his wheelchair. In the meantime, Trevor twisted Selene's arm around behind her, standing her up on her knees on the bed and whipping out a rather large Bowie knife at which point, he dragged the point of it ever so lightly across her jugular area on her neck.

Micky stopped in his tracks whenever he saw the shiny blade of the knife at his wife's throat and the fear in her eyes.

"Please don't…" Micky said to Trevor in an overly emotional tone. He couldn't bear the thought of not having Selene even if he had perceived that she may have been cheating on him with another man. The thought was just too painful. Having to watch her be butchered was more than he wanted to think of.

"You played me, you slutty little bitch!" Trevor screamed at Selene as the strength in his grip on her increased to the point of causing quite a bit of pain in her arm and shoulder. She winced.

"I don't know exactly who you are or what you're doing here but please just leave us alone and don't hurt us." Micky pleaded.

"It's Trevor!" Selene said to Micky in a very stressed tone.

"You son of a bitch!" Micky hissed in an uncontrolled outburst of anger.

At that moment, Trevor became angry with Micky's remark, threw Selene to the floor beside the bed and punched Micky in the face with his free hand.

Selene heard the punch glance off of Micky's face from her position in the floor but was in too much pain of her own to react immediately. She had landed on her left arm when Trevor had thrown her to the floor from the bed and was pretty sure that her arm or wrist was most certainly broken and would require medical attention.

Micky had managed to struggle with Trevor and get in a few good punches knocking the wind out of Trevor to the point that his retaliation had subsided quite considerably. Trevor grabbed Micky pulling him from the chair and dumping him into the floor. Before Trevor could stop him, Micky pulled his handgun out. He had been holding it beside himself in the chair. It had never been where Selene thought it was in the first place.

"I'll kill you right here if you don't cooperate you sick son of a bitch!" Micky said in an authoritative and commanding tone. "Go on, get over there against the wall!" He added as he continued to point the gun at Trevor.

Trevor was visibly shocked that he was now being held at gunpoint but nonetheless, he persisted. Trevor quickly grabbed Selene and dragged her up in front of him for use as a human shield and for leverage in the situation.

Selene shrieked in pain whenever Trevor grabbed her and was still visibly in a lot of pain even though she was once again not moving. Trevor's grip was hard and painful.

Silent tears of pain streamed down Selene's face as his grip became tighter on her and she continued to feel the pain of her injury.

"You let her go right now or so help me God, I'll blow your fucking head off!" Micky demanded, still pointing the gun at Trevor and now also at Selene.

"You're not gonna shoot at me. I've got your wife! You'll have to take a chance on blowing a hole in her pretty little body to get to me and you don't want to do that old man." Trevor teased as he continued to hold Selene hostage.

"Oh God..." Selene said in a whisper of pain as Trevor once again moved her position to be even more in front of himself and began pulling her toward the door.

"You're not taking her anywhere!" Micky said as he followed Trevor with the gun barrel.

"Micky..." Selene said through pain and in a fearful tone. Selene was in so much pain that she couldn't see straight or think straight and was not putting up a struggle at all with Trevor. The pain in her arm was unbearable. Her fear of what would happen next was also unbearable.

Micky couldn't take anymore of what was going on. In a split second he took careful aim, pulled the trigger and a loud blast rang out as his revolver unleashed a slug. Blood splashed on the wall and floor around them. Selene fell forward on her knees while Trevor flailed backwards clutching his right shoulder and then fell to the floor. Selene had managed to get her wits about her and slide herself over near an opposite corner of the room away from Trevor.

Trevor lay sprawled against the nearest wall in shock with regard to his fresh injury. Before anyone knew what was happening, Micky squeezed off a second shot which landed in Trevor's other shoulder followed by two more which were unloaded into his thigh and forearm. Micky wasn't shooting to kill, he was shooting to cause as much pain as possible so that Trevor would have to suffer because of what he had done to Selene.

Selene was still huddled in the other corner of the room until the last shot was fired and Trevor went down. It was then that she realized that she was also bleeding. It seemed that one of Micky's bullets had grazed her left arm but she had failed to realize it among the other pain she was experiencing.

Micky jammed the gun down the back of his pants and began vigorously struggling across the floor making the best possible use of his partially working legs to get to Selene, who was still in a state of shock.

"Oh my God, are you ok, baby? Micky said whenever he was close enough to touch her.

Selene was unable to speak. She was trembling and visibly shaken from the events that had taken place.

"You're bleeding." Micky said as he pulled off his shirt and applied it to the gunshot wound on her arm, gently so as not to cause any pain from the earlier injury caused by Trevor.

Trevor was still lying on the floor. Micky heard sirens on the street below and knew that the police had been notified of gunshots and would probably arrive in full force. He would have to answer for it.

"We've gotta get you to the hospital, honey." Micky said to Selene as he finished covering her wound with his shirt.

Micky had temporarily forgotten during all of the action that he had a cell phone in his pocket. He pulled it out, dialed 911 and waited for the dispatcher on the other end to answer.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"The police just responded to gunshots at the hotel. I was involved in that. my name is Micky Dolenz. My wife, Selene needs an ambulance. There was an intrusion in our hotel room. I shot the man who came in. He had a knife and was holding my wife hostage. He's still alive but he's injured and will need an ambulance too."

"What kind of injuries, Mr. Dolenz?"

"My wife was grazed whenever I shot at the intruder. She also may have a broken arm. She's in a lot of pain. The intruder was shot 4 times, twice in the shoulder, once in the arm and once in the leg in self defense."

"Do you know of anyone on the scene who has a weapon that the police should be aware of?"

"Just me. I have a gun. There's also a large knife that the intruder used but I have control of that as well. I've got no intentions of resisting the police or hurting anyone. We just need some help up here." Micky finished.

"Ok, the police are on the scene. We're going to dispatch them to your room right away. Please let them in." Just then, Micky heard what sounded like a full SWAT team jogging up the hallway leading to their room. The door was ajar but not completely opened. In an instant, the door flew back, crashed into the wall and 3 men in uniform all with guns of their own burst into the door.

Micky hung up the phone and put his hands up in the air.

"Micky Dolenz!" one of the officers shouted in a commanding tone as he pointed at his subject. "Please remain seated against the wall with your hands where I can see them." he was told.

"Yes officer." Micky said without hesitation and scooted up against the wall as he had been told to do.

The other two officers had approached Trevor to examine him while the third approached Selene to examine her.

"Please help my wife!" Micky pleaded as the officer checked her out.

"We will do our best. We've already got an ambulance en route." The officer informed.

"Oh, thank God!" Micky said, a little more relaxed now than he had previously been in the past 5 minutes.

Selene still hadn't said a word. She just watched everything that was happening around her as if she were not a part of her own body.

"Where are the weapons?" The officer questioned Micky.

"The gun's in the back of my pants. The knife's in the floor over there." He answered as he reached around to produce the gun.

"Thank you." The officer said as he bagged the gun and went for the knife to do the same.

The officers who were examining Trevor approached the officer who was with Micky and Selene.

"We've got a record on this one. It seems that he's been in the psych ward for several years and only recently got out. Looks like he's had a violent history in the past and it also looks like he stalked a Selene McHannoy pretty seriously in the past. Is that Ms. McHannoy?"

"Yes, I believe it is. She's Mrs. Dolenz now but I believe her previous name was McHannoy." The third officer said.

"Patch him up and book him." the leading officer ordered of the others with regard to Trevor.

Just then one of the radios beeped, a voice requested permission and clearance for paramedics to enter the scene.

"All clear" one of the officers said back into the radio.

In just a little while, 8 paramedics entered the room with all of their equipment. Four of them went to Trevor while the other four went to Selene and Micky.

"Stabilize her, she's in shock!" one of them shouted as they lifted her slim body up onto the stretcher and began plugging her into heart monitors, IVs and other medical odds and ends.

"Will she be alright?" Micky asked in a pleading tone of voice.

"I think so." He was told in a short response as the paramedics continued doing their job.

In a few more minutes Selene was rolling past Micky toward the door on the stretcher on her way to the hospital. For a split second, her eyes met his, she snapped out of her state of mental shock and mouthed "I love you" to him.

With that, Micky knew what he had to do. He began pulling himself toward his chair that he had left on the other side of the room and actually managed to reach the chair and get into it in half the time it had previously taken him-or at least it seemed like it in his mind.

It didn't go unnoticed.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He heard the voice of one of the officers call out to him.

"I have to go to the hospital with my wife!" Micky said to them nicely but firmly. "You can question me later. I'll turn myself in or whatever it is that you need me to do. Yes I shot him, yes he attacked my wife and yes he held her hostage at knife point and threatened to kill us both!" Micky said as he got progressively more agitated with being detained.

"Ok, we'll see to it that you get to the hospital with your wife but we've got some questions for you afterward. This guy had a criminal record a mile long and we're going to need your input to get him back in the big house. He's been getting an easy ride for the past several years because of his supposed mental problems. We want him behind bars this time." the officer said.

"Take Mr. Dolenz to the hospital-now! and no restrictions. He's not a flight risk." The lead officer commanded one of the other officers.

By the time they had made their way down to the parking lot entrance of the hotel, Micky saw all of the lights and police vehicles that sat in the parking lot. Just then a large van approached. The side door opened and a hydraulic ramp lowered to meet the pavement. It was a handicap accessible van.

Micky had only given the thought of getting one of those brief consideration. He didn't want to have to make such a scene every time he entered and exited a vehicle although he knew it was much easier than his current methods, he still preferred his current methods that allowed him to ride around in and occasionally drive a sports car. There was no time to complain about his ride at this time and he wasn't going to. He already knew what to do because he had read about the use of these vans online and everywhere else.

He backed the chair into it, swung it around to face front and bent down to work on the front safety holds while someone else latched the rear ones.

He was finished with his before the person on the back was finished.

"Ok, come on! We've gotta get to the hospital!" Micky pleaded with the police and their driver.

"Safety first!" He was bluntly told as the officer finished up with the rear safety holds to hold the chair in place.

Micky was briefly questioned on the way to the hospital by one of the officers who sat in the rear of the van with him taking notes on the short version of what had happened.

They arrived at the hospital 10 minutes behind the ambulance but it seemed like forever to Micky. He knew that a lot could happen in 10 minutes. After all, he had been happily driving down the California highway one minute enjoying the ride and the next second, had a violent collision, rolled the car, found himself knocked senseless and broken a long way from the car and his life had then changed forever. That sure didn't take 10 minutes. That had happened in a matter of seconds. He wanted more than anything to be with Selene in the hospital to make sure that she was getting the best treatment possible and that she would be ok.

Micky exited the handicap accessible van and moved toward the ER entrance. The sliding automatic doors opened as he approached. The waiting area was lined with several seats which were filled with all sorts of people. Micky went straight to the nurse's desk in the center to inquire about his wife.

"My wife, Selene Dolenz was just brought in, can you take me to her?" Micky said urgently to the nurse.

The nurse calmly looked through some papers on her desk then got up out of her chair.

"Please follow me." She said as she motioned for Micky.

Without speaking, Micky followed her a bit down a long hallway and through a set of double doors and then another to the ER where the doctor was informed that the patient's husband had arrived.

Micky saw a team of several nurses and doctors around the table where Selene had been placed. They appeared to be working on her left arm rather than the other arm that had been grazed by a bullet.

"Can I talk to her?" Micky asked the attending doctor.

"As long as you try to stay near the top of the table and out of the way, you can go in." the doctor said.

"How is she?" Micky asked.

"She'll be alright. She's mostly in shock right now and may need to speak with our therapist once we finish with her in the ER."

"Ok, thank you." Micky said to the doctor as he approached Selene.

Micky was looking down at Selene from the top of the exam table from a position that wouldn't interfere with anything that the doctors and nurses were doing to her arm. He could see that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and her face was stained with tears.

Micky brushed away the remaining tears with his thumb.

"I'm here baby, it will all be alright." He said softly to her as he lightly stroked her face.

"It hurts, Micky...really bad." She said to him in a near whisper referring to her broken arm that apparently had just been set and was getting prepped for a cast to be applied.

"I know it huts." Micky said then continued to tell her a story in order to help take her mind off it. "Whenever I was 13 I broke my arm and had to get a cast. It was pretty painful but it stopped hurting after a few days and it was ok. The fun part is that you get to have everybody sign your cast after it's all finished."

Selene smiled a forced smile and Micky continued talking to her.

"They'd probably let you pick out what color you want now. Back when I broke my arm, they were all white and then after wearing it a while, they turned into a dingy gray and looked really gross."

"So, what color do you think you'd like? I think green would look nice, personally." Micky said with a smile in attempt to maintain composure despite what had happened that afternoon at the hotel.

"Yeah, green would be nice. I like green." Selene said.

This was good, at least she was talking to him and not crying anymore. His presence made her feel safe and even made the pain more bearable to deal with.

"We're going to give you some pain killers to take care of the pain you'll be experiencing over the next 24 hours." A nurse said to Selene and then administered two tablets to her with water making sure that she swallowed them.

"You might feel a little loopy so you shouldn't drive or anything like that." She added.

"What was that?" Micky asked as the nurse turned to walk away.

The nurse turned back around and explained to Micky that it was a Percocet and that Selene should take one about every 6 hours for pain for the next 72 hours at least.

"This should put her out like a light. She needs the rest after what she's been through." The nurse said as she left the ER.

Micky didn't like the sound of the hospital just filling Selene up with Percocet because of his own previous experience. He knew what it was like to be dependent on pain killers and he never wanted Selene to have to go through that. Just then, the doctor attending the ER came to Micky.

"Sir, I am Dr. Eugene Smith" He said to Micky as he pulled off a rubber glove and shook hands.

"You are her husband?" The doctor asked.

"Yes."

Dr. Smith spoke with Micky as though he had known him for years like an old friend rather than having just met him. "You wife has been through a stressful ordeal mentally but has only suffered minor injuries. Nonetheless, we would like to keep her for a day or two for observation to make sure that she didn't sustain any head injuries. Whenever she came in, she was already in a state of shock to the point that it was difficult to get out of her what actually happened to her. She will need lots of rest and perhaps counseling later on." He explained to Micky as he passed him a clip board with some paperwork to be signed relating to insurance information. Micky signed it without a second thought. He had great insurance and wasn't worried about what the insurance didn't cover. He'd pay the rest and even have Selene a private nurse hired if she wanted.

"Here you go." Micky said as he passed the clip board back to the doctor, signed.

"Thank You, Mr. Dolenz."

"Where'd they take Selene?" He asked upon realizing that during his conversation with the doctor, Selene had been whisked away to another location.

Dr. Smith checked through the paperwork that had been filled out by the attending RN. "Here it is." He said, pointing to the middle of the paper indicating a room number. "She's on her way up to 5th floor, room 515. It's a private room."

"Mr. Dolenz, you might want to hang onto these." The doctor said as he pulled out a clear plastic bad from his lab coat that contained all of the jewelry Selene had been wearing at the time of the incident. This consisted only of her rings.

"Thanks Doctor." Micky said as he took the plastic bag and made his way up in the elevator to the 5th floor and located the room. Whenever he arrived the nurses had just transferred Selene into a hospital bed and hooked her up to an IV and monitors. She was still groggy from the medications that she'd been given in the ER. Micky approached the left side of the bed so that he could take a look at her left arm which was now in a fresh lime green cast. He could see that her fingers were swelled.

"Well, that'd explain why they took off your rings, sweetheart." He said aloud but to himself as his hand brushed over her fingertips that were sticking out from the cast.

He stuffed the bag into his pants pocket for safe keeping and then looked at his watch. It was 10:30 PM.

By 1 AM Micky had come to the realization that Selene was not going to wake up until the medication wore off and was subsequently feeling tired himself even though he had downed at least two cups of tea.. Micky fell asleep next to the bed.

The nurses either did not come back into the room that night or they were very quiet doing it. Micky slept like a rock which was unusual under the circumstances.

Selene felt nauseated as she rolled her head from one side to the other, half awake and half asleep. She was still feeling the ill effects of the drugs she had been given the night before. After a few minutes, she was able to make her mind work enough to wake up and be comprehensive of what was going on around her. She squinted to see the clock on the wall across from the hospital bed through the semi-darkness. It was 5:23 AM.

Selene felt confused, depressed, sleepy and slightly frightened and then she realized that she had no idea where she was or what she was doing there. She felt her heart briefly race at the thought and sat up in bed.

"Ok, I'm in a hospital." She reasoned to herself.

She winced in pain whenever she tried to move herself again and realized at that point that not only was her left arm in a cast, but that her other arm was injured as well.

"Broken arm, hurt other arm." She thought as she continued to ponder what had happened and why she was there. It was at that moment that she looked further left and saw Micky's wheelchair but he wasn't in it. She looked further and saw him sprawled out in the reclining chair that was near the bed. He was still asleep. His hair was not in its usual pony tail. It was frizzy and all over the place.

"He's not a patient; he's dressed in regular clothes." Selene thought to herself as she came to the realization in her own mind that she was in a hospital, not knowing what had happened to her with an old man she did not recognize. "And I have a pounding headache." She whispered aloud as she attempted to bring her right arm up to rub her head but stopped halfway there in pain.

She didn't want to rustle around too much because she didn't want to wake Micky. She needed to figure out what had happened first. She then realized that she really had to pee. Selene carefully and quietly slipped from beneath the covers, checking herself for evidence of other injuries besides the ones she was already aware of. She was unable to find injuries and was satisfied that it would be safe for her to take a few steps into the bathroom. The IV was portable so she could just roll it into the bathroom with her.

She quietly turned sideways in the bed and placed her bare feet on the cold tile floor of the hospital and made her way over to the bathroom. Once she was in there, she closed the door and turned on the light. It was bright. Very bright. To the point that it hurt her eyes and caused the throbbing pain in her head to worsen.

She looked herself over in the mirror before she used the bathroom.

"I look like shit." She said aloud to herself. The bathroom echoed slightly. "God, what happened to me" She also said aloud but this time in a whisper as she ran her finger across what seemed to be a bruise on her face.

She turned the light off before she opened the bathroom door and quietly got back into the bed to think about things. She had come to the realization in the bathroom that she had no idea about anything, including herself.


	25. Chapter 25

The Man Next Door

(Part 26)

Selene had gotten past the initial shock of being in the hospital and not knowing why. She had even come to grips with her injuries but what she could not figure out was who she was and who the man sleeping in the chair beside the bed was. She stared at Micky from the bed for a long time trying to figure out who he was or if his presence offered any clues to who she was or why she was there. She knew that it was awful of her to think but she was worried about whether or not she'd have to go home with the man next to her. She couldn't fathom in her current state of mind that she'd have anything to do with someone his age. He looked considerably older than her. The thought of him being her father had crossed her mind but he looked nothing like her and just didn't have a fatherly quality about him.

She spotted the papers lying on the table near the bed. They were the papers Micky had signed last night in the ER and brought back to the room with him. He hadn't bothered to read them too carefully up to that point and they had landed on the table to be picked up later.

Selene picked them up although reaching for them was painful. On the first sheet, she saw the patient sheet detailing injuries and treatment.

"A gunshot wound and a broken arm. My God, who am I and what in the world was I doing!" Selene thought to herself.

"Selene McHannoy-Dolenz" She pondered as she read the name on the paper under "patient." The injuries matched so the name had to match. She continued reading through the papers until she found another name. "George M. Dolenz." And a California address. Something about this didn't add up. The hospital address was an Arizona address but her home address was listed as California and to top it all off, this "George M. Dolenz" who was listed as the insurance policy holder was also the person who had signed off on the bottom of the paper. Selene couldn't fathom that she had married the much older man who was still sleeping in the chair beside her. She then noticed a wedding band on his left hand. Whenever she looked at her own left hand, she was at first relieved that there was no wedding band but she saw the tan line where a ring had been on her left hand. She knew then that she was probably married to the man in the chair. Her last name matched his, there were wedding rings and he was still there. She wondered what in the world she had done with her life up to this point and sank back down into the bed to think about it. Nearly a half hour had passed. Selene found herself getting more uncomfortable by the minute and having to move the bed into a sitting position. The bed its self was uncomfortable along with the pain that she'd been experiencing from the knocks she'd taken the night before back at the hotel.

Micky was awakened by the sound of the bed moving up into a sitting position. Out of instinct that he hadn't had in a while, he tried to rise from the chair by default and walk toward Selene's bed but quickly realized that his legs wouldn't work and that he'd have to transfer into the wheelchair in order to get closer.

"I'm coming, honey." Micky said sweetly to her as he pulled the wheelchair into the proper position to transfer into it.

'Stay there." She said calmly but bluntly to him from the bed. "Please." She added.

This caught him as kind of odd but he obliged without question with the knowledge that the medication she was given the night before could be having some lingering adverse effects on her mood.

"What happened?" She asked him ever so calmly, trying to not let him know that she had seemingly lost her memory for the moment.

"Selene, honey, some bad things happened last night but you'll be alright now. Trevor's been taken into custody and you're safe.

"I know that, George, now tell me about this." She said indicating her broken left arm.

" _George_?" He thought to himself. "What the heck?" he almost said aloud but then continued without missing a beat.

"Well, we were looking at this house down here in Phoenix and I had met the Realtor at the hotel. While I was gone, Trevor came, held you hostage, broke your arm and then I shot him. A bullet grazed your other arm and that's how you got here. They loaded you up on some high powered dope last night and that brings us up to now." He said, still thinking about the " _George_ " remark.

Selene listened intently on what he had to say comparing every bit of it with her injuries to make sure everything added up. She also then realized that not only did she marry someone much older than her but that her husband apparently needed the assistance of a wheelchair to get around and she wondered even more what she had done before this accident and particularly how she could be happy with this since she would probably be going home with this man.

"Are you alright, love?" Micky said, noticing that she had temporarily zoned out.

"Yeah, just thinking about some food." She said through a fake little smile. She really was not feeling like eating at all and really didn't know why she said that.

"You don't have any eating restrictions. I'll go find you a cheeseburger and onion rings and a Coke." Micky told her as he moved toward the bed, scooped up her right hand and kissed it.

"Oh, and here are these, baby." He said as he pulled her wedding rings out of his pocket and handed them to her.

"Be back later, love ya." He said as he left the room.

"Well, he seems nice enough." She said to herself after he was gone. A little hyped up but sweet. Almost in a way that was wrong for his age. He was like a younger person trapped in an older person's broken body. He couldn't have always been this way. She just knew that she had known him prior to whatever had left him in this state of being and perhaps before he grew out that awful mop of hair that was frizzing everywhere and looked so frightful.

"Cheeseburgers, onion rings and Coke?" She repeated aloud twice and then looked at herself wondering if these were her favorites, how she maintained such a slim figure. She then realized that those items did sound extremely appealing to her. "Ok, he knows just what I like." She said.

And then there were the wedding rings she was still holding in her hand from when he put them there. She took them out of the bag and looked at them. They were beautiful. "He paid a bundle for these. Either that or he stole it." She said, somewhat smirking at that thought. After examining the rings it became obvious to her that she may have only married him for his money rather than love. She was so confused about this whole thing.

"I suppose the only thing to do is talk with him or the nurse or somebody about it." She thought to herself as she rolled the wedding rings around in her hand.

She attempted to slip the ring on her left hand to see whether or not the ring fit as if perhaps it wasn't really her ring if it did not fit but she then quickly realized that her fingers were swelled to the point that they looked like little sausages sticking out of the cast. The portion of her hand that she could see looked awful. She set the extraordinary rings aside on the table beside the bed along with the papers that she had been looking at and switched on the television to a cartoon channel. King Of The Hill was on.

Micky returned to the hospital but instead of going directly back to Selene's room, he made a trip to the nurse's station to speak with the head RN.

"My wife, Selene is behaving strangely." Micky explained.

"What sort of strange?" The nurse asked him as she pulled up some papers from a file she had at her desk on Selene.

"Well, she acts kind of confused. She was surprised to see me this morning and she called me George." He told the nurse with some obvious concern.

"Well, looking at the papers it would appear that George _is_ your name." The nurse said looking up at him over her reading glasses and placing emphasis on "is" whenever she spoke.

"Yes, I know what my name is on that paper but I don't usually use that name except for official stuff. She always used to call me Micky." He explained. "Never anything but Micky."

"Well, she did have a bump on her head and she was placed under observation for her head injury for 24 hours." The nurse indicated. "I could order an MRI and let the doctor come by a little later today but that's gonna push it over the limitation that your insurance will pay for." She said.

"That's fine, where are the papers. I'll pay out of pocket." He said as he sat the greasy paper bag that was filled with a burger and onion rings along with the 2 liter bottle of Coke on the nurse's station counter so that he could sign papers.

"That won't be necessary." The nurse told him. "We'll just bill you for it." She said as she eyeballed the greasy bag.

"I'm back, sweetheart!" Micky said as he entered the room. He found Selene watching television.

"Hey." She said calmly to him as he rolled around to the side of her bed and pushed the rolling hospital table in a position where she could access it.

"I got you a cheeseburger." He said as he took it out and sat it on the table along with the onion rings and then the big bottle of Coke. He poured some of the Coke into an insulated cup that the hospital had placed in Selene's room.

"Thanks." She said as she picked up the cheeseburger and somewhat reluctantly took a bite of it. It was the best thing she had tasted even though she still wasn't feeling hungry.

"Umm, George…" Selene started.

Micky interrupted. "Honey, why are you calling me George?" He asked.

She kept talking as though he hadn't even said anything. "When are they gonna let me go home?" She asked.

"Soon, love, very soon." He said to her placing his hand on her left shoulder. "And I'm going to take very good care of you until you're better." He added.

Selene had heard the "George" question but skipped over it intentionally. She had then realized that perhaps she might have been married to this guy and his name may in fact be George but that wasn't what he was used to her calling him. She couldn't remember anything about what she called him. She did notice that whenever he had returned to the room, that he had fixed his hair nicely. It was now slicked back into a neat, well kept pony tail. After seeing him fixed up, she didn't find him nearly so frightening. In fact, there was a certain charm left in him.

Micky sat with her while she ate some of the food. After a while, whenever she was finished he excused himself from the room telling her that he would return shortly.

What he really needed was some time to think about things and figure things out. He already realized that Selene must have sustained enough of a knock on the head to have resulted in some sort of memory loss. Hopefully temporary. He would have to discuss this with the doctor. Nothing had been mentioned of a head injury the previous night. If it was, perhaps he had missed it in the hustle and bustle of it all. He had managed to find a place alone in the back corner of a lounge at the end of the hallway to do this thinking and sorting.

As he sat there alone thinking about the present situation, he came to the harsh realization that Selene not only forgot who he was but she had probably forgotten her past life, everything they'd been through, all of the romance and happy times and probably their future plans not to mention her family and her life before him. He didn't know a whole lot about it but he didn't want her to be missing a chunk of her life if she wasn't able to fully regain her memory. His greatest fear was that she wouldn't be able to remember him and that she would no longer be in love with him. He couldn't bear the thought of not having his Selene back in her full mental capacity. "I've got to do what I can to help her get it all back." Micky said to himself while fighting the sting of tears.

Once composed, he searched out the doctor on call and discussed his wife's condition. It was determined that she had sustained enough of a knock on the head to result in amnesia but the doctor assured Micky that his wife would most likely make a full recovery and that everything would most likely come back to her.

"You've just got to take her back to her normal every day life and get her back into her normal every day routine. That's what makes people remember things and get past the mental block that amnesia creates." The doctor explained. This coming after an MRI.

"But what if she won't go home with me or something like that?" Micky asked, wanting to know about every possible outcome and welcoming any suggestion that might help.

"Well, she's your wife and the hospital can release her into your custody but that's about it. You will have to do the rest. We can recommend therapy and such but you really have your work cut out for you."

"Ok, thank you. Do you know when she can return home?" Micky asked.

"She should be discharged this afternoon." He replied.

Micky returned to Selene's hospital room where he found a nurse with discharge papers waiting for him.

"Mr. Dolenz?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"We're going to need your signature on these papers so that we can discharge your wife." She informed.

Micky complied, once again signing "George M. Dolenz" on the paper instead of "Micky" as Selene watched.

"Just so you understand, we're releasing her into your custody because of her mental condition. You're responsible for her." The nurse indicated to Micky. He nodded and handed back the paperwork.

"Ok, you're done. You can go home now." The nurse said as she exited the room.

"What did that mean?" Selene asked. "Released in your custody?" She questioned.

"Honey, they said you have temporary amnesia…since you can't remember anything, they told me to take you home, put you in your usual environment and let it all come back to you gradually." He said to her, realizing that she wasn't even sure that It was ok to go home with him and added "And everything will be ok."

Selene didn't say much on the car ride to the hotel. Micky had called ahead and made arrangements for their stuff to be taken to another room while the room they had previously been in was being cleaned up. He certainly didn't want to have to go back in there and get everything with Selene and possibly cause her to have some sort of mental breakdown before she had a chance to recover. He had seen her the night before and was just coming to grips with her mental state. It was almost as though he had watched her each and every memory drip out of her head as the events unfolded the night before. One traumatic event after the other until she was emptied of emotion and memories and a brain block went up blocking out everything.

"Why are we at a hotel? Please tell me we don't live here." Selene protested upon the cab's arrival.

"No sweety, we don't live here. In fact, I just purchased a house for us and we will be moving into it soon—or rather we will have our things moved into it." He explained to her.

"What kind of a house is it?" She asked him, seeming a little more interested in the idea of the house.

"Well, it's a nice southwestern style house here in Arizona, fully accessible and we bought it so that I could try and recover from this." He said indicating his legs and the wheelchair.

Selene looked at him oddly.

"What is it honey?" He asked.

"Could you…could you tell me what happened to you?" she asked and continued "I know I should remember it but I've been thinking about it and I don't remember you or a house or anything of the sort!" She said in near hysteria and near tears.

Micky gave her his immediate attention. That was one thing about him that she had noticed—he was very attentive to her. She liked that aspect of whatever kind of relationship they had. "Honey, it's alright. It's going to be alright. Everything will be ok." He said as he brushed a tear from her face with his thumb the same way he had done the night before. She reached up and took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry, George." She said looking down at his hand.

"You never called me George." He said then looked up at her with a smirk. "It's Micky." He told her. She looked a little shocked.

"Micky." She repeated. "I like it. Micky it is." She said as she got out of the cab and waited for Micky to get out of the cab. The two of them made their way up to their newly assigned hotel suite where they found their stuff. Selene was amazed all over again with the room and its extravagance. Once again the thought of her marriage to this man she now knew as "Micky" came to mind. Perhaps she had married better than she had first thought. He was sweet, he seemed to be in love with her and he had money but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find it in her heart to love him back the way he loved her. She wondered if she seriously had married him for the money or if she had somehow taken advantage of his man with her young body and looks and managed to hook him.

" _I'm not that kind of a person._ " She told herself.

"Please sit down." Micky said to her indicating the couch in the room.

Selene sat down, Micky followed and transferred out of the chair onto the couch so that he could sit with her. He took her right hand in his own hands.

"Ok, you asked what happened to me earlier. Here goes. Just bear in mind that this is difficult for me to talk about. You once knew how difficult it was, you helped me get through it the first time but explaining it might end up being like going through it all over again so just bear with me on this one. Ok?" He said.

"You don't really have to tell me what happened if it's that bad. It's ok, I was being rude by asking." Selene said, looking him in the eye.

The thought of his own wife thinking her questioning about her life was rude was absurd to him. "No, it's really alright love. You see, you're the reason I'm still here. I wouldn't have had the will to live if it wasn't for you being with me, taking care of me." He said with a very loving and sincere look on his face.

"Let me continue." He requested.

"I moved into the house next door to yours in California. I met you whenever you had a problem with your car. I fixed it for you, we talked and that was that. There were a few other times and you made me dinner, that kind of thing. Just kind neighborly stuff and then I realized that I wanted to see more of you. I hadn't known you too long prior to the accident." He paused.

"What kind of accident." Selene questioned.

"It was a car accident." Micky said recalling what he now remembered about his own ordeal which was much more than he cared to remember about it.

"A car accident caused this?" She asked indicating his present condition of paralysis.

"Yes." He said somberly. Remembering the days prior whenever his legs worked properly and would have allowed him to date Selene and pursue her the way a gentleman should pursue a lady...and do things to her that he could only now imagine.

"Ok, so the car rolled, I was thrown from it and ended up getting some pretty nasty spinal injuries that caused me to be paralyzed. I spent a couple of months in the hospital. You apparently heard the news on the radio about the accident and decided that you wanted to check up on me because I had made enough of an impression on you to care.

Selene listened to his story intently.

"Things got fuzzy for the next little while but I know you stayed at he hospital with me and only left to return to your house and mind to pay bills and bring me some of my stuff that I needed. You done everything for me while you were there. Took great care of me and then even brought me home after I was released."

"And then?" She asked, still listening intently and wondering how their relationship had developed.

"And then I returned home to my house beside yours. You had managed to take care of my house, take care of my bills, buy groceries and once I was home, you done everything you could to make the house accessible to me. It's a two story house and there were a few things that needed to be brought downstairs. You took care of that for me. You also prepared all of my meals for me, helped me buy a new car and really helped me get back on track emotionally. This thing took a huge emotional toll on me and it's still taking its toll. It's just been a lot easier since I met you."

"Where was your family?" She asked, realizing that not once had he mentioned anyone else in his life.

"My family doesn't live nearby. My ex was contacted but I'm told that she didn't even respond other than to say that she hoped it killed me. I lived alone in a big old house as a bachelor until you came along."

"I see. So when did we get serious?" Selene asked

"Whenever you started coming over to take care of me. I don't know what happened. I was attracted to you and didn't tell you, you were attracted to me and neither one of us wanted to tell the other one about our secret attraction until one day it just came out and we've been deeply in love with each other ever since and had lots of good times." Micky told her, this time smiling as he talked. She could see that he was sincerely happy about this part of his life.

"And we got married?" She said as more of a statement.

"Yes, back in the summer. I asked you to marry me in Pennsylvania whenever we went to visit David, Peter and Mike for a week." He replied.

"I don't mean to sound like such a bother or be so inquisitive about things but could you tell me about that?" She asked, somewhat embarrassed that she couldn't even remember how they got engaged.

"We went horseback riding with the guys and then we made you think that you were going out to some fancy place for dinner the night I proposed to you. David, Peter and Mike helped me make things work properly." He said, once again indicating his legs and the wheelchair. "And so we set you up to get in David's carriage with me at the reigns. I took you up to a lovely pond that was set ablaze by a fiery sunset where I parked the carriage after a nice ride through the Pennsylvania countryside and then managed to serenade you a little bit after which point, I managed to get down on one knee and asked you to be my wife. You accepted the proposal on the spot and we returned to David's house where we celebrated the event.

"That sounds so romantic." She said as she watched his expression as he re-lived the event.

"Selene, darling—it was the happiest day of my life next to the day we were married." He told her

"Tell me about our wedding." She requested, this time smiling as she asked and beginning to feel a bit more comfortable in the company of this older man.

"Well, we didn't exactly have a wedding my dear. We got married alone on a beach while we were on a vacation get away. You thought it would be a good idea to take a trip to the beach, I was still getting adjusted to being a half a man and was pretty depressed about it all and so we went to the beach. We had a wonderful time at the beach and I had this dream about where our wedding would be. As it turned out, there was an identical place at the beach and I just knew it was right. I arranged for a minister to marry us there, You were gorgeous, I was standing. You cried and nearly knocked me down whenever you saw me and we had a couple of pictures made and agreed that we'd have a public wedding at a later date whenever I could give you the wedding you really deserve. Big church, pretty dress, anything you want. Anything at all." He said.

"Wow. We had a private wedding and we're going to have a public one?" She said.

"Yes, that's right." He said, not wanting to tell her the straight of it all, that he was a celebrity and that there had already been tabloid publications about their life, his injuries and a few other things. He didn't think she was stable enough to handle it. Besides, he thought he had managed to tell her enough of the good stuff to make her trust him so that he could take her home. He wasn't sure how that was going to go since he was incapable of driving the car for long distances and he didn't want to ask her to drive unless she absolutely felt like doing it.

"So then after we returned from vacation, we decided to look for a house that was fully accessible, you sold your house next door to mine and moved in with me for the time being and that brings us to now. We had left California to look at this house that I ended up buying for us so we're going to be going back to California and then moving back to Phoenix once I hire the movers to do it." Micky explained.

"But what happened to me here? Who was the person who done this to me?" She asked.

"Selene, I really don't think we should get into that right now. I will tell you all about it whenever you've had time to settle down a little bit from the excitement. I don't want you to end up having some sort of a mental break down or something." He explained.

Selene's expression changed slightly. "A mental break down? I need to know these things!" She said, nearly beginning to cry. Her emotional state was not great at the moment. In fact, it was showing to be quite fragile.

Micky had planned on packing them up the next morning and going back to their home in California for a while even though he had taken care of the purchase of the home in Arizona. He could put off his own need to recuperate and rehabilitate for a while. It wasn't like anything was going to be lost. He had already made enough progress without all of the equipment that came with the house and he had decided that Selene's presence in his life was of more importance than his being able to walk again. With those thoughts, Micky moved closer to Selene placing his hand on the side of her cheek briefly.

"Selene" He paused and sighed. "You had a really traumatic experience and I just need to know that you're going to be alright when I do tell you about it." He said.

"You're right." She said.

Selene appeared tired and was starting to experience some pain from her broken arm again. Without having to be told, Micky brought her one of his Ibuprofen, not the Percocet that had been prescribed. She took it, thanked him and fell asleep on the couch.

Micky watched her sleep for a while. He was content to do that. He found a blanket from the suite guest room and put over her. The air conditioning in the room had made her skin feel cold to the touch. She looked like an angel sleeping. "My angel." He said not above a whisper then left the room to ready himself for bed. He had already decided that he would try sleeping in the chair that was adjacent to the couch so that if she needed anything, he'd be close and be able to attend to whatever the need was quickly. He also hadn't forgotten the times that he had woken up in the middle of the night and wondered if she would still be there only to find that she was somewhere else in the house doing some little thing to take care of him. He loved that about her. He wanted to do the same thing for her on some level where he was able.

Micky took another blanket from the bedroom but rather than moving out of his wheelchair to another chair in the room, he decided that he would just sleep in the wheelchair. He done just that. His sleep was peppered with vile dreams of the past events and woke him at least twice during the night. After the second time, he decided that sleeping was pointless so he made his way to the kitchen. It was already 5:45 AM anyway, he'd be awake soon enough anyway. He cracked open the fridge to see what was there. It had been stocked with various food items. This was a complimentary package offered by the hotel whenever you rented a suite. Micky ended up preparing a breakfast of eggs, tea and toast. It was small but he knew that Selene would appreciate it.

He approached Selene quietly and gently stroked her cheek. She had rolled over so that her back was facing him. When he saw her stir, he spoke into her ear.

"Good morning, sunshine!" and placed his hand on her left arm touching the tips of her fingers with his and loosely holding her hand.

She rolled over and opened her eyes. He hadn't bothered to turn on any of the lights in the room. Bright lights in the morning were something that he really despised. Especially upon first waking up.

"Hey." She said sleepily to him as she rolled over and sat up, wrapping herself in the blanket that he had put over her the night before.

"I have breakfast whenever you're ready for it." Micky said.

"I am kind of hungry." She said upon hearing her stomach growl loudly.

"Do you want be to bring the food to you or do you want to come to the food?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"I'll have it in the kitchen." She said slowly getting up off the couch, obviously still experiencing some pain. She followed him into the kitchen area and at the other end of the kitchen was a small square dining table. The food was out, the tea was hot and Micky was pleased as punch with his accomplishment. Micky moved ahead and pulled the chair out for her so that she could be seated.

"Thank you." Selene said as she looked at him a bit oddly for pulling the chair out. She couldn't remember a thing about their life together but she was starting to see based on his stories from the previous evening and his current actions that she had managed to marry what seemed like a very sweet man. She sat down and they both enjoyed breakfast.


	26. Chapter 26

The Man Next Door

(Part 27)

Micky sat at the breakfast table across from Selene pondering the drive back home from Phoenix to California. He knew that he'd probably be the one driving most if not all of the way. He knew that he was in no position to comment on the physical condition of anyone or their abilities to do things but he did not feel that Selene was able to drive a long distance at this point.

"Your eggs are really good." Selene said to Micky as she forked the next few bites of food.

"Thanks, hon! I'm glad you like them. They're no comparison to the ones you make though." He told her, smiling.

"The ones I make?" She asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, you're a great little cook. You cook wonderful stuff." Micky explained.

"Oh." Selene said somewhat emotionless as she ate the remainder of what was on the plate.

Micky hadn't realized the extent of her memory loss until now. She not only didn't remember anything about their life together but she had no idea about her own life. She didn't know that she was a great cook, she had no idea that she was a wonderful singer and she hadn't the slightest clue what kind of a home they'd be going back to, what her history was or anything else that the average person usually has knowledge of.

It was then that he realized that he would have to take full responsibility not only for her safety and recovery but for her re-education of who she was, where she came from and all the rest. He didn't know all that much about her other than what she had told him. She hadn't told him any stories about her childhood, about her parents, friends or anything else outside of recent events that were only discussed whenever something prompted discussion about these events. He'd just have to go through her stuff and see what he could find out about her in order to try to help her get her memory back. He wanted to cause one of those memory triggers that the doctor had discussed with him by showing Selene familiar things and places and hoped that it would all come back to her in an instant as described without any long term effects.

"If it's ok with you, I'll clean up the kitchen." Selene said as she watched Micky finish the last bite of his food while she was finishing the last of her cup of tea.

Micky hesitated for a moment but then gave her the ok to clean up things figuring that if she felt like doing it, he should probably just allow her to do it, allow her to follow her instincts. "Just don't over do it, ok?" He said.

"I'll be ok." She said as she got up slowly from the chair and proceeded to clear the table.

"I'm going to go get some of our things together and organized." Micky told her and then left the room disappearing into the back of the suite where the bedroom was located.

Once Micky was gone, Selene finished cleaning the table and put the dirty dishes into the mini dishwasher that was in the room and started it up. Whenever she raised back up from looking at the controls on the thing, she was suddenly back in Trevor's arms in a headlock with her head in his elbow. Shots rang out and the very next second she realized that there actually was someone touching her. A hand was grasping her own hand while another hand was lightly placed around her waist. She snapped out of the flash back she was having, found herself gasping for breath and her heart pounding as though it were going to jump out of her chest and run away. She nearly felt as though she would black out from the panic and reached with her other hand to steady herself on the table that was now behind her.

"Selene, are you alright?" She heard Micky's soft voice with a tone of concern in it and then felt a tug at her arm from where he was holding onto her. Apparently she had toppled a little bit into the direction of the table and he had pulled her back so that she wouldn't fall. He gently pulled her closer to him.

"Come here love." He said as he gently guided her to his lap and sat her down as though she were a small child sitting on daddy's lap.

He cuddled her in his arms to comfort her. He could feel her heart pounding.

"I don't know what happened!" She said, shaken. "I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher and then I raised up and turned around and there he was, holding me, with a knife..." She said.

"Who?" Micky asked, realizing already that she had experienced a flashback and wanting to try to probe the depths of her mind to cause her to remember on her own. This could be the first key to getting her to regain her memory. Micky was an intelligent guy.

"This guy..." She said and then began to describe Trevor. She eventually came up with his name on her own.

"Selene, you're safe from him. The cops arrested him and took him away. He won't get out for a long time." Micky assured her as he smoothed her hair and gently kissed her forehead.

Selene still hadn't had time to adjust to the fact that she and Micky were married. She was still behaving shyly when he tried to kiss her. This time she felt her face blush a little bit even though Micky wasn't being particularly sexual with her; more comforting than anything else. He still loved the feeling of her on his lap though. Even at this point, he was still undeniably attracted to her.

"Ok, you wanna come back here with me and help me pack some stuff up?" Micky asked her. She agreed and went to the bedroom with him.

In some of the items, Selene found a wallet. It was a black leather wallet that showed some signs of wear. 'I think this is yours." She said as she held it out for Micky.

"Um, no, that would be yours." He said. "You carry a wallet." He added, then went back to what he was doing.

Selene took the wallet back and opened it up. There was some cash inside along with a few cards, credit, debit, library, and the rest of the usual stuff. In the other side of the wallet was her driver's license with her photograph and signature. She looked over it and then pulled out something from behind it and looked at it. Micky watched as she held the small photo in her hand and looked at it carefully. It was a photo that had been taken whenever they had been married on the beach. Selene was standing beside Micky on the rock just as he had described. In this photo, she was holding her hand up to display her wedding rings in the photo and hanging off of Micky's right side. They both appeared to be exceedingly happy in the photo. It was a gorgeous photo. The kind of photos that dreams are made of.

"You were standing up at our wedding." She said to him, not looking up from the photograph. "This was after your accident, right?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said, not bothering to add anything else. He had seen the cute little smile that had crossed her face whenever she had pulled that photograph out. He hadn't seen that in a while but it was welcome. Maybe it was a sign that she remembered something or felt something whenever she saw the picture.

Selene continued to study the photograph and run her fingers across it tracing herself and Micky...

"Tell me why you wanted to stand up for our wedding." Selene questioned.

"Because I didn't want to be sitting down whenever we were married. I thought it was appropriate to stand for you, love." He explained.

"That was very thoughtful of you to do that." She said, this time looking up at him with those pretty eyes that he loved to see and with that slight smile.

"You seem like a real sweetheart." She said, still smiling at him and at the same time being sincere but also still having no clue about their recent past relationship.

He wanted to scoop her up and kiss her, maybe even lay her down on the bed and kiss her passionately but he knew that doing something that emotional and drastic could send her into another mental flashback. He also knew that she may not be open to such advances until she remembered everything; remembered him.

"I try to be your sweetheart." He said, not making any sort of advances at her.

With her right hand, she covered Micky's hand which was resting on the arm rest of the chair. "Thank you for being so sweet." She told him. "You seem really wonderful and I really wish I could remember things about our relationship." She said then went back to organizing things in the suit case.

Micky noticed the evident sadness in her voice and wanted to help her. He picked up the photograph that she had set aside for the moment and looked at it himself. He almost felt tears well up in his eyes looking at it; remembering what they had and how wonderful it had been.

He looked up away from the photograph and met her eyes looking back at him. She had been watching his reaction to the photograph whenever she saw that he had picked it up.

"I'll do whatever we need to do in order to help you remember. Just promise you won't leave me" Micky said. It was a plea more than a request. No matter what, he wanted to take care of her and always have her around. He was willing to forego the romantic part of the relationship just to keep her around. Whatever it took.

"That's really nice of you." Selene responded, still folding some items up and packing them in a suitcase nearby. "I really do appreciate your help. I'm trying to put the pieces back together." She said with a sense of emotional emptiness.

It didn't take them long to get things packed up and ready to go. Micky called the bellhop up and requested that their bags be taken down to their car and packed. He followed with Selene pushing his chair. He let her push him instead of saying anything to her about not doing that like he usually would. This was more of an instinct of hers to care for him and he was going to let her act upon it for now. He felt that it really would help her move closer to finding herself again and getting her memory back.

Micky and Selene made their way to the parking lot. Selene realized at that point that she had no idea which car was theirs. She paused long enough to watch the bellhop who went directly to the black Mercedes. She followed.

"Push me over to the driver side door, love." Micky said with some certainty. Selene done as was requested. Selene didn't say what she was thinking which was " _how in the world is he going to drive this thing in his condition? He can't even walk!_ "

Micky knew that he wouldn't be up to driving for the whole trip but he didn't want to put Selene behind the wheel just yet. Micky slipped out of the wheelchair and behind the wheel. It felt so good to sit in the driver's seat again that he couldn't hardly stand the excitement but his excitement was shadowed with the thoughts of what he knew would happen later-the pain of over-worked muscles and nerves. Hopefully his therapy routines had helped him build some stamina though and he would have a longer tolerance for driving.

The Bellhop assisted Selene with putting the wheelchair into the trunk of the car and then opened the passenger side door for her. Micky passed him a 100 dollar bill for a tip and started the Mercedes. The engine hummed quietly.

A few minutes later, Micky pulled the car onto the interstate headed back in a westward direction towards his California home. Selene could see that he was thoroughly enjoying the sports car. Since he was on the interstate, he was able to set the cruise control which helped his condition quite a bit. This was something he hadn't even thought about doing last time he used the car.

"That's nice" Selene said, indicating the cruise feature of the car. "Fancy"

"Just about every car on the road has that feature now, they've had that feature for years" Micky told her.

"I don't think I've ever owned a car that had that feature though." Selene said and then trailed off in her own thoughts.

Micky realized that she may be on the verge of remembering something else about herself so he continued the discussion about the car and cruise control features.

"Really? What sort of cars do you drive?" He asked

Selene looked at him from the passenger side of the car and responded fluidly to his inquiry "Well, there's this old beater car, its a Chevy. I've had it for a while. It's a stick shift though so there's not an option for cruise control on those."

Just at that moment, her eyes became a little brighter. She realized that she remembered the black Beretta. She could visualize it now in her mind...the interior, its old boxy dash, the way it smelled of older car scent, how the seat belt squealed and squeaked when it was pulled out and retracted. She remembered her car.

Micky realized by her expression that she had remembered. "You remembered your car didn't you?"

"Mmm hmm" Selene said, smiling. The two of them discussed the details of the car a bit more. Micky prodded her mind for details until she fully described the car to him by make, model, color, features and any other details he could think of that might bring one more piece of her memory back to her.

Selene had noticed that he was able to slightly move his legs and began thinking about that. She realized that she seemed to know a lot about what was good for this type of condition and even how to re-train muscles to function.

"Micky, what did I do back at home-I mean for a job?" She asked out of the blue.

"Well, you were mainly a writer for the local newspaper but as I understood you to tell me, you previously went to college for physical therapy and you did spend several years taking care of your mother." He explained to her.

"Oh, well that sounds nice." She said as she silently pondered what he had said.

Micky's hand came over, brushed her hair away from her face and came to rest on the side of her face. "It's ok to ask me about these things." He said.

"I know, I was just thinking about my mother...I don't know anything about her..." Selene said.

Micky only then realized that he would have to tell her that her mother had died and he didn't know how she would take that but she had to be told. He remembered how empty and void of emotions he had felt whenever his own mother had passed away. Completely numb.

Micky told Selene a few little things here and there about her mom but pulled off the next exit he could find and drove through the town until he found a park area. This required him to use what movement he had regained in order to drive the car. It hadn't been too bad on the interstate since he had been able to set the cruise control. He was feeling very positive about the drive at this point.

The two of them got out of the car and found a quiet place.

"Why are st stopping here?" Selene asked curiously.

"Just to stretch our legs a little bit and talk." Micky said. "Well, you can stretch your legs...I don't know about mine" He added and chuckled, poking fun at himself.

Without being asked, Selene went to the back of the car almost as if by default and unloaded Micky's wheelchair from the trunk and brought it around to his side of the car where she set the brake and then proceeded to assist him as best she could with the use of one arm into it.

Micky took Selene to a park bench under a tree where he sat in front of her taking her hands in his and leaning toward her.

"Selene, I don't really know how to tell you this. When you asked me about your mother, I didn't know what to say but I wanted to tell you as soon as possible...You took great care of your mother for a long time. She was happy, you spent a lot of time with her and she passed away peacefully after a long illness with a physically debilitating disease." When Micky said this, he saw the expression on her face change from a curious one to an emotionally numb expression and then the tears came. Selene fell forward into Micky's arms not even trying to be careful of the cast on her broken arm. She cried into his chest uncontrollably for a few minutes there with Micky holding her, rubbing her back and attempting to comfort her as best he could.

"Baby, I'm sorry." Micky whispered in her ear as she cried.

Micky didn't know what else he could say so he just let her get it all out. When he felt that her emotional wave was over, he helped her clean up her face a bit and still held the hand of her un-broken arm.

"Would you like to go get some coffee or something?" Micky offered.

"I think that'd be nice." Selene said through the last few remaining tears as she stood up in front of Micky, leaned inward toward him and hugged him with her uninjured arm. "Thank you." She said not above a whisper. Micky took the opportunity and returned the hug holding her firmly for only a few seconds before releasing her. It felt good to get that vibe again. Having a physical exchange felt really nice. Especially when she initiated it and he was able to reciprocate.

"I saw a coffee shop back up the road a bit whenever we came off the interstate." Micky said as he started the car and backed it out of the parking place. "Wanna try it out?" He asked.

"That sounds nice." Selene said, still in a bit of a state of shock with what Micky had told her earlier.

A few minutes later, the two of them were at the coffee shop. Whenever they walked into the place, they saw a rather laid back atmosphere. There were a few plush chairs sitting around, a couch and several tall tables with tall chairs. The place smelled absolutely sinful with the scent of coffee with undertones of sweet syrups and liquors. There was also the faint, much weaker scent of tea brewing and freshly baked pastries and bread.

"I'd like a tall coffee, black, with a grinder sandwich." Micky said to the young man behind the counter. "And my lady here will have..." He stopped for a moment when he noticed that Selene was feasting her eyes upon some blueberry cheesecake in the showcase. "What is it that you will have, love?" He asked, drawing her attention away from the cheesecake.

"I think I'll have a deli sandwich, a green tea spiced chai latte, cold and a slice of that cheesecake." She said.

"I'll have that right out." The young man said as Micky paid him.

Micky looked around for a regular size table that would be handicap accessible but there wasn't one. He would have to go over where the couch and chairs were and use the coffee table. That was fine also. It was a bit more comfortable than the hard chairs.

Micky rolled in between the couch and the chair so that he was sitting beside the couch where Selene had already sat down.

"This is kind of nice." Selene commented.

"Yes, it is. Can't wait to get into some of the food!" Micky said.

It was obvious to Selene that Micky enjoyed eating and he had a particular flare for great food. A moment later the food came out with drinks. The smooth jazz music that was playing in the background was just enough to set the tone for the place. It was almost calming to be there.

"I wish I owned a place like this." Selene said out of nowhere.

"Really, do you? I didn't know you wanted to own a business." Micky said as he chewed another bite off the sandwich he'd ordered.

"Yeah, it's been a dream of mine for a while. I've just always wanted to be able to create one of those places that has an atmosphere that you never forget and that you love to be in." She said then added "You know, if people like your food, that's only 25% of a business. The other 75% is if they like the atmosphere that they are in while they eat it. If it makes them feel good, they will buy more food and hang around longer."

"Wait a minute..." Micky said, putting down the sandwich and continuing. If you've had this dream as long as you remember, that must only mean one thing!" He said getting more excited with every word that came out of his mouth.

"What?" Selene said, a little taken aback by his seemingly uncontrolled excitement.

"You're remembering something! It's coming back to you!" He said nearly coming off the seat with excitement.

Selene hadn't thought of that until just now. It was weird how that thought just popped into her mind as though it had always been there just tucked away in some dark corridor waiting for a chance to show its self again. She then too began to get excited about it and happily finished her deli sandwich and part of the chai.

"Could I talk you into letting me sample that slice of cheesecake, dear?" Micky asked with a smile on his face.

Without answering right away, Selene forked the point on the end of the slice off and held it out to feed him. "You sure can!" She said smiling back at him as she popped the cheesecake into his mouth and fed him.

This pleased Micky. He was happy at the apparent affectionate gesture of being fed.

"This is delicious!" He exclaimed as he picked up his coffee and took a sip of that to wash down the cheesecake. "But it isn't as good as the one you make." He added, grinning at Selene.

Selene smiled and took a bite of the cheesecake, licking the fork after she took the food off it.

Whenever they had finished their food and drinks, they got back in the car.

Micky started the car and then went for a switch on the console.

"Do you mind, love?" Micky asked before he flipped the switch that would trigger the top of the SLK to open up and tuck away into the trunk.

"Do I mind what?" Selene asked and then realized what he was asking and smiled.

"No, go ahead, It'll be nice to have the top down." She told him at which point, he flicked the switch and the transformation took place.

Once the top was down, they headed back toward the interstate and began traveling west again toward California.

Despite the horrific events that had unfolded in Phoenix, Selene was finding Micky to be a fun guy to be around. He was incredibility sweet to her and so far, he had made her feel comfortable about the whole situation that she wasn't yet able to remember.

A couple of hours had passed since they started driving again. Micky looked slightly drained but still exhibited his usual happy self. The truth was that he was just happy to have Selene and escape from the hell that had taken place only hours previous. He had purchase a home for them but he wanted to take it easy on the moving process until Selene was stable enough to endure it and find a happy life at their new home. He could put off his own well being for a while for her and that's exactly what he intended to do.

Just then, Micky felt a twinge in the lower left portion of his back that sent enough of a jolt through him to cause him to take on a pained expression. Selene didn't notice it right off. She had been looking at the desert scenery on the other side of the car. Driving through the Southwest was something that she seemed to take enjoyment in. It was picturesque. Micky had hoped that Selene hadn't noticed that he had experienced a pain and kept driving. Selene had pulled out a camera from her bag in the car and began snapping a few photos of the scenery around them.

"I just love looking at the plateaus and desert scenery around here. It's beautiful." Selene said as they passed by what looked like a little oasis of cacti all clumped together in one place in the middle of nowhere.

"I find it relaxing to stare into the desert at the sand dunes and such and just imagine a quiet relaxing place. Sometimes the wind blows and that's relaxing too but it gets cold out here at night." Micky added, throwing a glance her way. He reached for a pair of aviator sun glasses that were laying in a console tray in the center of the car and put them on.

"It's kind of bright around here too in the middle of the day." He added as he smiled, his eyes now shielded with the reflective glasses.

The truth was that he had used the sun glasses to further cover any expression of pain because he knew that he was going to start having major pain again soon and he wanted to be able to complete the drive home without having to make Selene drive. He just didn't think she'd be up to it with everything that had happened. They should be home in a few more hours anyway.

Selene glanced over at him when he put on the sun glasses and thought to herself "he really looks great in those." and at just that point, Micky turned and caught her affectionately looking at him but at the same time zoning out.

"What?" He said, smiling.

"Nothing, I was just thinking." Selene said obviously trying to cover up that she was letting herself zone out on the image of Micky in aviator sun glasses.

He reached over and took the hand of her broken arm in his, gently so as not to hurt anything. It would have been kind of awkward for him to have held her right hand while he was driving the car. She let him and didn't appear uncomfortable at all.

Just then, he noticed that Selene's hand felt a little odd and looked down at it. Her fingers had swelled again and looked quite painful.

"Selene, do you need something for that?" He asked then added before she could answer "is it hurting?"

She looked down at her hand and examined it for a moment before she answered him.

"Yeah, it's throbbing." She finally admitted. "And so is my other arm." She added.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked.

"I know you wanna get home as soon as possible. You don't look all that energized yourself." She told him, attempting to dismiss the situation with her own pain as though she sensed something wasn't quite right with him at the same time.

"I am going to stop soon and we're going to find you something to take for that to help it." He told her, continuing to drive for the next few miles until they came to another smaller town. By now, they were in New Mexico.

Micky knew that the doctor had prescribed narcotics for Selene's pain but he didn't even want to look at that, much less start giving it to her because of his own experiences with it. He would much rather get her something a little less habit forming. He remembered the fits of rage he used to have when he tried to go off the pain killers cold turkey and all of the busted up objects in the house that he would throw at the wall out of anger because of the withdraw.

"There's a pharmacy over there." Selene pointed out.

Micky turned into the parking lot and shut the car off.

The two of them sat there for a few moments in silence.

"I hate to ask you to do it, but could you go in there and find something so we don't have to get my chair out of the trunk?" Micky asked.

Selene hadn't thought about that until just now and realized that would probably be the best way of handling the situation since her arms didn't feel like taking the chair out of the trunk.

"I just don't think you should be doing all of that lifting and such until you recover a little bit more." He added.

"No problem. I can still walk. She said and flashed him that sweet smile of hers that he loved so much.

While Selene was in the store, Micky sat in the car waiting for her to return and as he did, he thanked God for Selene.

Selene walked through the pharmacy and looked at various over the counter pain medication until she found Ibuprofen. Without thinking, she picked up a bottle and headed toward the cash register.

Micky, still sitting in the car watching people and the surrounding area remembered that Selene probably didn't have any money on her at all and he hadn't given her the credit card before she went in.

"Shit!" He said to himself as he fumbled through his own wallet for a card that he could give her when she came back to get money from him. He hated that she would probably end up getting to the register before she realized that she didn't have anything in her pockets. With that, he smacked the steering wheel hard with his fists. He wanted so badly to get out of the car, walk into the store and just pay for anything she wanted but his legs wouldn't let him do that. He'd just have to sit tight until she came back. He waited. He was effectively stuck in the driver's seat of the car.

"This is odd, I don't seem to have any money in my pocket." Selene said when the cashier rang up the medication. "Hang on, I think I left my purse in the car, I'll just go get it and be right back." She told the young man behind the counter as she turned to exit the store.

Selene approached the driver side of the car but before she could ask for anything, Micky put the credit card in her hand. "It'll be ok. Just pay with this." He said smiling at her although he really didn't feel like smiling at the moment after thinking about the simple things that he wasn't able to do that he'd like to be able to do when it came to Selene. He just wanted to come to her rescue once in a while and make things ok.

In a few minutes, Selene came back out of the store with a couple of bottles of Coke and the pills she had purchased, returned to the car and handed Micky the card back.

"Thanks for letting me use that." She said, indicating the credit card. "I'll pay you back" she said without thinking.

"Thanks? It's yours too. You don't have to thank me for it, honey." He told her. "and you don't have to pay me back for it..." he added.

The New Mexico sun was boiling down on the black car in the parking lot and was quite warm. Micky flipped the switch and brought the convertible top back up out of the trunk of the car shielding them from the direct sunlight.

Selene handed him one of the drinks.

"I-I wasn't sure what you liked so...So I just got you the same thing I wanted. If you don't like it..." She stopped when Micky held up a hand and grinned.

"I love Coke." He said, twisting the plastic cap off the bottle, making it hiss and then turning it up and taking a big drink of it.

"It's the best thing I've ever tasted." He said, after swallowing what was in his mouth. Nice and cold.

Selene drank some of her Coke as well and then opened the Ibuprofen and dispensed two of them into her hand then took them. She decided to double up on it and swallowed two more of them.

"Can I have a couple of those too?" Micky asked.

"What's wrong with you?" Selene asked not remembering anything about his other problems but slightly worried about him.

"Just got a slight headache from the sun." He said hoping that would satisfy any curiosity and get him a dose of the medicine that would subdue any major pain that he might have until a point that they got back home where he could fully relax and endure it. He knew it was going to be horrid after what he was doing now.

Selene handed him two of the pills and he quickly swallowed them and smiled. "I think I'm already feeling better." He said with a giggle then started the car, placed the drink on the seat between his legs and pulled out of the parking lot.

The two of them rode with the AC on the rest of the way to the California state line. Things had been quiet for the last couple hours. That was because Selene had fallen asleep on her side of the car and Micky had decided not to do anything to disturb her.

Just then, he looked at his dash and noticed that the gas needle was dangerously close to "E" and decided that he should probably pull over somewhere and get gas. "Where?" was the next question. He didn't know of any full service gas stations in the area but was going to try to find one if he could to avoid having to get out and pump it himself or ask Selene to do it. She was resting too well and needed all the rest and relaxation she could get under the circumstances.

Micky called Information on his cell phone and quietly asked the operator about the location of a full service gas station near his location. She placed him on hold for a moment then returned to the line with the information he had requested. Lucky for him, there was a full service gas station only 2 miles from his current location.

Micky pulled into the gas pumps, put the window down halfway and switched the car off.

"What will it be?" A friendly male voice asked as someone walked up from the back of the car.

"High Test, and fill it up." Micky said. "Don't bother checking the oil, it's fine. My wife's sleeping and I don't wanna wake her up." He added.

"Will do." The older man at the pump said as he began filling the tank.

Micky handed the man his credit card and in a few minutes the man returned from the store with it to get Micky's signature on it.

"Have a nice day." The man said as Micky handed it back to him, thanked him and tipped him for his services.

A little while later, Micky pulled the Mercedes into his driveway and under the car port past Selene's Beretta which was parked to the side of the driveway. Selene was still asleep. Micky hated to wake her but he knew that she'd be more comfortable inside the house and he needed her help to get himself out of the car so there really wasn't much of a choice in the matter.

"Damn these legs." He mumbled to himself, leaning over toward Selene so that he could gently wake her. He rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand lightly.

"Selene, we're home now." He said quietly as he gently nudged her shoulder being very careful not to hurt her arm. After a little more coaxing, Selene woke up.

"We're home." Micky told her again. Before she could say anything, Micky reached for the seat belt and unbuckled it, gently guiding it back to the other side of the car for her so that she didn't have to try to untangle herself from it.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her before she had a chance to say anything."

She thought about it for a moment. "I think I feel better." She said, still relaxed from being asleep for the past few hours.

Not wanting to rush her into waking up, Micky just stayed put in the car with her until he saw that she was ready to get out of the car.

Selene got out of the car, walked around to the rear and stopped. Micky didn't pop the trunk for her right away. He was still in the car but it wasn't like he could go anywhere if he were to open the door. It was just that usually he had previously opened the trunk for her before she had got back there and his door open and waiting for her.

There was a reason that Micky hadn't popped the trunk. He was sitting in the car, holding the keys in his hand, finger on the button but he just didn't get as far as pressing it before he broke down in uncontrollable sobs. Not out of pain or suffering from the long drive but because he was thinking how horrible it was going to be for Selene to try and recover with him in that condition and how difficult it was going to be for her to help him. He didn't want her to have to do these things but he didn't want anyone else doing it either. He was feeling sorry for himself and knew that Selene hated that too but he just couldn't do anything about it right now. With everything that had happened recently, his emotional state was fragile and this was all it took to set it off and push him to the breaking point.

Selene walked around to the driver side door and saw the pitiful sight that was unfolding right in front of her. She saw this older man that she had married that she barely knew anything about, sitting in the car gripping the steering wheel with one hand, slumped forward, keys in the other hand, crying uncontrollably. She pulled the door open with her uninjured hand. His crying was deep, hard crying. Not just a few tears. She didn't really know what to do or how to do it so she just done what came natural to her. She knelt down beside the car and reached in with both arms, not saying anything just yet and hugged Micky as best as her cast would allow. His fragile emotional state subsided enough for him to realize that she was there and leaned into her, placing one hand on her arm that was in a cast so that he wouldn't unintentionally hurt her.

"I'm sorry." He said through the remaining tears. "I'm so sorry, Selene." He continued.

"Shhhh." She said, still holding him but wiping a tears from his face the same way he had done her and at the same time, taking the car keys from his hand.

"I'm going to get your chair out of the trunk and then we're going to go inside and I'll make us a hot cup of tea." She said looking into his now red eyes and at the same time placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Before he realized it, she leaned in and kissed him lightly, close to the corner of his mouth, just the way he liked it.

He didn't say anything. He wasn't able to say anything at the moment. He was still recovering from the emotional breakdown and the kiss. Selene had kissed him exactly the same way she used to.

Somehow Selene managed to haul the chair out of the trunk, unfold it and in a short while, she returned to him and extended her right hand toward him, open, in a gesture of assisting him out of the vehicle.

"It's ok, I can handle it from here. He assured her as he rubbed his eye again.

Without saying anything, Selene closed the car door behind him after he was clear of it and followed him into the house leaving their stuff in the trunk of the car to deal with later.

When Micky unlocked the door and went inside, Selene followed and stopped just inside the door. She looked around the place taking in everything there was too see.

Micky went straight to the bathroom leaving her in the kitchen area and without saying anything.

Selene walked around the house trying to see if anything she saw there would spark any kind of memories at all with her. She walked into the living room, looked at some photos that were sitting on the end table and then made her way into Micky's study where she saw several more pictures of her decorating his desk and the walls. Some of the photos were taken at the beach, others were taken at the house and various other locations.

Micky, while in the bathroom had managed to wash his face in cold water and try to shake the emotional outburst he had just experienced. He had a change of clothing in the bathroom and by now, he really felt that he needed it. He changed outfits, putting on his lounge pants and a sweat shirt then went back out to see what Selene was doing. He should have known. The smell of freshly brewing tea hit him in the face the minute he exited the bathroom. She had managed to find the tea and make some for them both.

When Micky came around the corner to the kitchen, Selene had poured the second cup of tea that was sitting on a serving tray and had placed a bowl of sugar onto that same tray.

"We can have that in the living room." Micky said as she turned around, tray in hand.

"Of course!" She said, and headed that way.

Once in the living room, Selene placed the tray on the coffee table that was positioned in the center of the room and sat down on the couch.

"Mind if I sit here too?" Micky asked before he moved the chair into a position so that he could transfer out of it onto the couch.

"No, not at all." Selene said, patting the couch beside her.

Micky didn't know why, but he felt awkward transferring himself to the couch in front of Selene all of a sudden. Somehow, he felt like the sight of this would sway her opinion of him to a point that she may never recover her memory or perhaps just may decide that she didn't want to be with him any longer. Once he plopped down on the couch beside her, positioned himself comfortably and positioned his feet so that they looked natural.

"Here, sip on this." Selene said, handing him the cup of herbal tea that she had brewed.

"Thank you." He said, taking a sip of the still piping hot tea.

"You're welcome, Micky." Selene replied, sipping her own tea.

"Hey, listen-about earlier in the driveway." Micky started. "I don't know what came over me. You know, I told you I'd been having trouble dealing with this whole thing and..." He stopped, realizing that she wanted to say something.

"It's ok." Selene said, leaning toward him and placing a hand on his thigh. In an instant, the expression on his face changed again. She jerked her hand back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She said, nearly beginning to cry herself and clearly feeling that she was out of line.

"No, it wasn't that. It was just that...that I can't feel it when you do that. There are just so many things that I want to feel and do but I can't anymore. And having you has been a great help to me but you need to heal now as well. We both need to heal together and you can't do that if you're having to take care of me." Micky explained.

Selene sat there listening to him as he explained this to her but not saying a word. She was in her own little chain of thought regarding Micky and his apparent desire to make sure that she was well taken care of and recovered fully from her injuries.

"I still don't remember too much about you other than what you've told me but I can see one thing." Selene said. "You're a very sweet and caring man." She told him

"And you're a very sweet little lady yourself." He told her. "And I love you" He added.

"I just think that I need to have somebody come to the house and help take care of me so that you don't have to do it all." Micky blurted out.

"That's going to be expensive." Selene said.

Micky paused for a moment and collected his thoughts. "It will be ok. I can assure you of that." He told her, not wanting to drop too many bombs on her at once by telling her that he was a celebrity and that he didn't have to worry about money because he had a lot of it. She would find that out in due time just like she did the first time around and he wasn't going to push anything on her-including himself as bad as he wanted to do it.

"Just know that you don't have to worry about anything. I'm going to take care of it all." He said.

Selene found comfort in these words even though she hadn't the first clue what he was talking about. Something told her just to trust him and take him at his word and everything would fall into place as it should. After all, he just told her that he loved her...not in a sexual way but in more of a generally caring sort of way.

"Want to watch something on television?" Micky asked, switching on the plasma screen TV and bringing up the guide.

Selene nodded as she continued to sip her tea. The two of them watched a movie for the next hour and a half. Thankfully it was a comedy and lifted their spirits a great deal. When the movie was over, Selene hadn't moved from her spot on the couch and Micky hadn't moved from his. He wanted so badly to cuddle her during the movie but he was waiting for her to make the fist move because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. This was like starting over for her. He'd have to charm her all over again. There was one little problem though, he had no idea that he had charmed her to begin with when they first met. It just happened. He had no idea whether or not it would work a second time around or how to make it work. He would have to play it by ear and just do what he felt was right.

"Was that your stomach?" She asked indicating the groan from Micky's side of the couch.

He looked at her sheepishly and nodded.

"What can we have for dinner tonight?" She asked.

"You go in the study and get the phone book and pick out any restaurant you like and we'll have dinner delivered. Anything you want." He said, smiling.

"Anything?" She repeated.

"Yes, anything. Whatever you desire is and I'll eat it too." He told her.

When she left the room, Micky got back into his wheelchair, put the tea cups on the tray with the sugar and placed all of that on his lap, took it to the kitchen and put the cups in the dishwasher and the sugar back where it went. He then went outside on the back deck and discovered that it wasn't too horribly chilly that afternoon and decided that it would be nice to have dinner out there rather than inside the house. He quickly found the tall taper candles that he had used the last time they had dinner out there and placed them on the table returning inside afterward.

Just then, Selene popped back into the kitchen and saw him coming back inside from out on the deck.

"What were you doing?" She asked him casually.

"Well, I thought since the weather was so nice outside that we could have dinner out there this afternoon. I hope you don't mind." He added.

"That sounds really nice." Selene commented.

"Selene, was there anything you needed around here? I mean I know that you don't remember a lot of stuff so if there's something you want just let me know. It's ok." He told her, sensing that there might be something she'd like to do at some point. or something she needed but perhaps couldn't remember its location.

"Now that you mention it, I'd really like to take a shower and maybe change into something more comfortable."

"There's a nice tub in the upstairs master bathroom. A lot of your clothes are also upstairs in the bedroom closet. You'll find linens in the bathroom closet. Enjoy it. I'll wait down here for the food." Micky told her and then went back into the living room to watch TV again.

A few minutes later, Micky hollered upstairs at her. "Be careful and don't get that cast wet or it will fall off!"

"Ok" Selene said.

"And if you need help with anything, just holler, I'll be in the living room." He added.

"Ok" Selene said again and went into the bathroom.

She decided to leave the door cracked for whatever reason should she need to yell at Micky from upstairs so that he could hear her but then wondered exactly how it was that he would be able to get up there too her if she did need him. She dismissed the thought and began filling the tub with hot water. While the tub was filling, she went into the bedroom and picked out some lounge pants of her own and a baby doll t shirt, both in black and took them to the bathroom where she laid them on the counter top at the sink. She looked around and located some shampoo that she presumed was hers. It was a fruity scented brand and she couldn't imagine Micky would use something that smelled that feminine. He didn't smell like that.

She picked out two large fluffy towels from the closet and then stepped down into the bathtub where she soaked her body for about a half hour. The sunken tub was convenient because she could lay her arm up on the side of it easily and not get the cast wet. She noted that her fingers were still slightly puffy but not like they had been. Her other arm was badly bruised from where the gunshot had grazed her arm but it looked to be healing nicely aside from it's grotesque bruised appearance. She would have to re-dress this once she came out of the shower. It hadn't healed enough to be uncovered yet.

Once she was out of the bath, dried and ready to put her clothes on, she ran into a bit of a problem. She was unable to get the baby doll shirt that she had picked out, put on. She couldn't get her arm through it because of its stretchiness. She then realized that it felt weird to think about Micky seeing her undressed. The thought of asking him for help had crossed her mind at that point. She quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to get the shirt on without his help and he was her husband so going along with logic, she took the shirt and went down stairs wearing her pants and bra.

"Micky, could you come here a moment." She said from the hallway, not wanting to enter the living room because of the large front window.

"Coming!" He said and then popped around the corner.

"Wow!" He said, looking her up and down then realizing that he was making her uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, what did you need, love?" He said, stopping himself from ogling his wife any further and subsequently stopping what would have been a huge boner. -it had been a little while for him. He missed her.

"I can't get this shirt on, could you help me put it on or something?" She asked, still blushing from the look he gave her and reluctantly handing it to him after she had used it to cover her front.

"Yeah, come into the bedroom and sit on the bed." He told her. Whenever she sat down on the bed, Micky gently guided her broken arm and the cast through the sleeve first then helped Selene put the shirt over her head and then helped her with her other arm.

"Selene, you probably should put something on your arm." He remarked whenever he saw that the gash was uncovered on her right arm.

"You're right, I do need to do something about that." She said then realized that she would probably have to get him to do that too since she couldn't do anything with her broken arm.

Without saying anything, Micky had already went into his bathroom and picked out some items that would be useful, returned and begun patching her up.

"Im not going to use the alcohol to sterilize this since you just got out of the shower and you're probably clean anyway. It would hurt." He said as he applied some antiseptic cream to the wound and covered it with a bandage.

"There, did that hurt?" He asked.

"No, you're a very good caregiver." Selene told him as he replaced things he had taken from the bathroom.

When he returned, Selene was standing beside the bed waiting for him.

"Selene...I'm sorry." He said when he came back.

"For what?..." Selene said.

"The way I acted." He replied and continued "When you came downstairs. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and I'm sorry." He explained.

"Oh, that. It's ok." She told him but didn't really look him in the eye when she said that.

"Do you feel like talking about it?" Micky asked.

Selene sat back down on the bed, Micky came closer so that he was near enough to take her hand if he wanted but not close enough to make her feel uncomfortable.

"I guess I was asking for it whenever I touched your thigh earlier." She said, this time smirking a little bit to try and lift the mood. She had felt awkward whenever he looked at her and obviously got himself turned on a great deal from it but she had decided to let it go. She was his wife.

"No." Micky said and stopped. "No, you weren't asking for anything when you done that and I should have had more consideration for you than what I did in there as well as when you needed help with your shirt." He said. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable" he added.

"I wasn't treating you right and I wasn't behaving like a gentleman and I'm really sorry I made you feel bad." He continued.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"There's the food." Selene told him.

Micky didn't turn to leave the room but instead let his chair roll backward a bit and lowered himself out of it to the floor in a kneeling position, took her hand in his and looked up at her.

"I know I've not made this afternoon the greatest for you but will you still have dinner with me out on the back deck?" He asked her.

This melted Selene's heart. "Yes, yes of course I will, Micky." She said, taking his hand in both of hers. Her gaze dropped to his hand in hers. "You're just so thoughtful all the time." She told him without looking him in the eye. Just then an unexpected tear escaped her eye and fell on their hands.

"I really wish I could remember our life together." She said to him. "I want to remember what we had...or have together. I think it is really something special"

"I know...and you will. Give it time." Micky urged.

The doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it, Micky." Selene told him, giving him time to put himself back in the chair. She left the room and went to the door. Micky followed behind her.

"That'll be 42.36, Ma'am." The delivery guy told her.

"Put it on my tab." Micky said as he approached the door and apparently knew the delivery boy well enough to say that.

"Yes sir, Mr. Dolenz!" The delivery boy said with a smile.

"Here ya go kid." Micky approached him and handed him a 20 dollar bill. "That one's for you."

Selene had placed the food on the island near the door and just watched this whole thing go down.

"What?" Micky said when he noticed Selene was still zoning out a bit.

"You just gave him a huge tip." Selene said.

"I always give huge tips if the service is good, it's ok. We're not going to run out of money or anything like that." He assured her.

She continued preparing the food, putting it on plates and such and then took the plates to the outside table. Micky followed and picked up a Zippo lighter on the way out to light the candles.

The Italian food smelled absolutely wonderful. Micky lit the candles and moved to sit across from Selene rather than beside her. He really didn't want to make her uncomfortable at all, not again. Not after what he'd already done earlier. He would keep his distance and allow her to make the first move on him. If anything was going to happen, she needed to initiate it in order for it to be ok and in order for her to feel comfortable with it.

"You said you'd like to remember our life together." Micky said to her after they had nearly finished their food.

"I think you will remember it but you're just going to have to go with your instinct and do what feels right as you go about your everyday activities." He added.

"It just isn't working fast enough." She said. "I want it to happen soon." She continued.

"Would it be ok if I sat beside you?" Micky asked. He knew that sitting beside her wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable but what he was thinking of doing next might and he would have to set the mood just right if he was going to pull it off.

"Yeah, that's fine." Selene said, flashing him a slight smile and bringing her drink to her lips.

Before moving beside her, Micky told her he'd be back in a moment, went into the house and brought back out a frost covered container that he had apparently took from his freezer.

This was just so good I couldn't toss it. You made it a while back for me and I just never got around to eating it and froze it." When he took the lid off, there was a couple of slices of cheesecake inside. Selene's cheesecake.

"I made that?" She asked in disbelief and then thought about it. She realized that she did know how to make cheesecake.

"Oh my god, I do remember how to make it." She said to Micky.

He smiled a perverted smile because he wanted to take that statement in another way but he quickly dialed that smile back down to a cordial one rather than smutty.

"Quick, tell me something else that I might remember!" She urged.

"Ok, well you're a singer. Remember, I told you about that earlier. Ummm...Highway 101, you cover their songs a lot." He said.

Selene thought about that for a moment and remembered that too.

"Micky, I think it's beginning to come back to me! I remember the lyrics!" she said, excited.

Now that she was happy, Micky was going to try and make his move but first, he forked a piece of cheesecake that was still frozen but not solid any longer and held it up for Selene to take a bite.

"That...is wonderful!" She said. "I can't believe that I remember how to make this!" She said.

Once she had enough time to swallow it, Micky moved in very close to her, putting one arm around the back of her neck and the other hand on her forearm and kissed her gently, much like the same way that they had kissed the first time. No tongue, nothing pushy. Just a simple kiss on the lips. Micky pulled away slightly and said to her "Do you remember that?" Before he got a verbal answer, Selene had leaned in for another kiss from Micky. Her lips covered his and he forgot everything bad that had ever happened to him in life from the moment Selene's tongue entered his mouth and began dancing around. Micky found his whole body paralyzed from the mouth down out of sheer enjoyment of what he was experiencing at this moment. He wanted time to freeze so that it would last longer. She eventually pulled away after a more lengthy kiss.

She saw that Micky had been shot way above cloud 9 from the kiss.

"Was that good for you, Selene?" He finally asked.

She nodded and smiled. "I still don't remember much about us but I know you couldn't kiss me like that if you didn't love me with all your heart." She told him. "I remembered kissing you." She added. "I also remember falling in love with you." She continued.

Micky took Selene's hand as she began to detail for him one of the first kisses they had shared together that was much like what they had just experienced and explained that she just had to re-enact it and play it out in order to drive the memory home and back to the forefront of her mind.

"I don't know what to say except that I'm so thankful that you're remembering something." He said, his voice cracking because he was nearly beginning to cry out of happiness.

The two of them cleared the outside table and returned to the living room to spend the rest of the evening before bedtime. Micky had remembered something that might spark a memory for her. He just couldn't get it. He would have to have her to get it.

"Selene, upstairs on the table in the bedroom, there's a jewelry box. Could you go get it and bring it down here?" He asked her.

"Yeah" She said, as she went upstairs.

"Don't peek inside until you get back down here." Micky said.

Selene returned in a few minutes with a jewelry box and sat down on the couch, this time closer to Micky than she had sat the last time. Affectionately close.

"This jewelry box belonged to your mother." Micky told her as he took it in his hands and opened it. He sifted through a few odds and ends that she kept in the box and found the sand dollar necklace that he had fashioned into jewelry for her that was found on their trip to the beach. He held it up on his hand for her to see.

Selene studied it for a moment then took it into her own hands and looked it over. It was almost as though the piece of jewelry had a telepathic message that transmitted from the jewelry into her mind upon contact.

She began describing to Micky how he found it and even after a while, where he found it and at the same time, the freedom he had discovered while in the water.

Micky sat on the couch amazed at how much she had already remembered and thinking to himself if things kept up like this, that she would remember things a lot faster than he had originally thought. He knew that he had figured out what the key was. It was things she was familiar with. Familiar things triggered memories because the human mind never truly forgets anything. They just get tucked away in a file somewhere in the darkest corners of the mind only to be recalled whenever someone or something accesses it through a memory or a feeling, or a sight.

"I'm just so glad that you're remembering things." Micky said to her. Without expecting it, she hugged him. "I don't know what I would do without you, Micky." Selene told him while hugging him. "I had no clue who you were when I woke up at the hospital and the thought that I married you for money and just couldn't remember it has been in the front of my mind ever since but I can see now-and feel that's not the case at all. I know I don't remember everything yet but I know one thing." She paused.

Micky gently pulled her away from himself so that he was looking directly into her eyes. "What's that, love?" He asked sweetly, still holding her, ready to pull her back into one of his Micky hugs with little or no prior notice.

"I know that I loved you, and that I didn't marry you for your money. That's a huge relief to me because I searched my soul and I just couldn't bring myself to believe that I would do something like that."

"That's because you wouldn't and you didn't." He told her before hugging her again.

"I'm just lucky to have ended up with someone like you." She told him, squeezing him and resting her head on his shoulder.

It was still early at only 9:30 at night but both of them were tired so Micky suggested going to bed. He was partly suggesting that for Selene but partly for himself. He had been experiencing pain again. He would take some more of the Ibuprofen before he got into the bed so as not to keep Selene awake-that is if she felt comfortable sleeping with him. If not, he would gladly sleep on the couch in the living room so he'd be sure and hear her if she woke up during the night.

The two of them made their way into the bedroom without saying a word to one another, Selene found her PJs on the floor on what was apparently her side of the bed while Micky brushed his teeth in the bathroom.

He didn't try the first time to watch her change clothes but at this point, she wouldn't have minded as much. She had found that she trusted him even though she still didn't remember much.

Micky tipped up the glass and swallowed two pills and some water. Selene saw this but didn't think much about it. Not as much as she would have before her ordeal. When Micky was done, she went to the bathroom to do the same routine, including the pills as precaution to keep her hand from swelling.

Micky waited for her to return.

"Selene, I know you may not be up to sleeping with me..." Micky started then stopped.

"No, It's ok. You can sleep here." She said. "I want you to." She added, then walked around to the other side of the bed and got in.

She flipped the covers down on Micky's side of the bed and patted the bed beside her indicating that she wanted him to join her.

"I usually take these off at night." He said, indicating his shirt and pants. "If you want me to stay dressed I will." He added.

Strangely enough, Selene did feel odd about him taking his pants off but not the shirt. She wasn't really sure why at the moment.

"Just the shirt." She said. Micky smiled and obliged her request then got into the bed with her. She watched as he picked up his legs and arranged them on the bed before lying down. She brought the covers up over him after he laid down.

"Are you comfortable?" she asked.

"Yeah, how about you?" He asked her in response.

"I feel pretty good, a little achy but good." She said.


	27. Chapter 27

**The Man Next Door (Part 28)**

Selene was lying down at this point in bed. Micky had just picked up his left leg and placed it on the bed beside his right leg and was in the bed beside her.

"Micky?" Selene said in a low voice.

"yes?"

"Did I used to help you get into the bed?" She asked.

Micky didn't say anything for a few moments then replied "at first."

"Ok." I just wanted to make sure you were alright." She said.

"I am, how about yourself?" He asked. "Your arm feel alright?"

"Yeah, it's achy but I think it will be alright."

Micky picked up a pillow from his side of the bed that had apparently been laying on the floor and passed it to Selene.

"Put this underneath your arm and elevate it a little bit, that might help it." he said as he propped himself up on his other hand and helped her with it.

"Thank you, that does feel a little more comfortable." She told him.

"Welcome, love." He said to her then leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

They were quiet for a few more minutes and then Selene called for him again.

"Micky?"

"hmm?" He said, this time without getting up.

There was nothing for a moment and then "Will you hold me...please?" Selene said. It was almost a plea.

Without saying a word, Micky turned toward her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him under the covers so that her head was resting on his shoulder and his arm was around her. He held her for a while with both arms.

"Everything ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted you close to me." She said, snuggling up next to him and inhaling his scent at the same time.

"Ok, love. Goodnight." He kissed her again, this time on her cheek.

"Goodnight, Micky." She said as she attempted to go to sleep.

Micky on the other hand was still lying awake a couple of hours later. Selene was so run down that she was out like a light within a few minutes. Micky was beginning to experience the pain and fatigue that he had grown accustomed to over the past several months but it wasn't as severe as it would have been had he not taken any medication for it earlier. The light of the moon flowed in through the window in the bedroom pouring its pure white light across the bed where Selene lay next to him. He held her while she slept, thinking about her and how wonderful this was. Just having her in the same bed with him, her allowing him to hold her like this and everything. He had not expected her to grow this close to him again this soon after losing her memory. Selene's right hand lay across her stomach. Micky took it in his own hand and eventually kissed it and placed it back where it was without waking her. Her fingers didn't appear to be swelled.

He eventually fell asleep, probably because he had stopped focusing on the pain he was experiencing until it had subsided enough for him to actually sleep. By this time, it was after midnight but he didn't have any place to be the next day so he wasn't too worried about it. He could sleep in if he wanted to.

It was Selene's usual habit to wake up around 6 AM. She lied there, still wrapped in Micky's arms, him sleeping and thought about how that made her feel and why she had asked him to hold her the night before. She wanted to test just how deep her feelings ran for him and attempt to spark a memory of them together that would make it all come back. All of the feelings just weren't there but she wanted them back desperately. She wanted to love Micky the way she had before or even more.

Selene carefully moved so that she was in a sitting position and watched Micky. His face had a peaceful expression. Aside from his hair being rather rumpled and frizzy, she did have to admit that she found him attractive. She bent down to kiss his forehead lightly before making her way out of bed so as not to wake him and headed for the kitchen. He had mentioned the other day that her omelets were wonderful. She figured she would just try that out and see if she could still make them and if they were as good.

In no time at all, she made her way around the kitchen and found the necessary ingredients and whipped up the usual extra fluffy omelets and had them served up hot on a plate. Micky wasn't yet awake so she covered them to keep them warm and went looking for the beverage of the morning. She decided that it would be tea based upon her personal preferences.

Micky's was roused up by the wonderful smells coming from his kitchen. He rolled over to find Selene not there and smiled to himself whenever he realized what she was doing in the kitchen. Maybe it was a good thing that she was already making breakfast again. Maybe it would trigger a memory.

Micky didn't feel much like getting dressed. He'd decided that he was going to just go into the kitchen and eat breakfast before he done anything else so he done just that.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Micky said when he came into the room and saw Selene hanging out at the stove putting the finishing touches on breakfast. She had fried some bacon by this time.

Selene turned around and got a slight startled look on her face when she saw Micky sitting in the wheelchair wearing nothing but the lounge pants from the night before, shirtless. Micky obviously caught on to this look that she didn't realize that he had seen.

"What is it, honey?" He asked.

"Nothing, you just surprised me, that's all." She said and quickly went back to what she was doing with the food.

Micky had grown quite comfortable running around the house shirtless and in some cases wearing less than that but this was different. It made Selene slightly uncomfortable for whatever reason.

"I'll be back in a minute, ok?

"Alright." She said, still working with the food and not looking in his direction.

Selene was just a little shocked that he would come to breakfast shirtless. It wasn't that he looked particularly grotesque or anything like that. It was just that she wasn't used to seeing him outside of the bedroom shirtless. It was an oddity for her.

She truly hoped that she hadn't hurt his feelings by what she had done, even though it wasn't intentional at all. It just happened.

Selene set the table and brought the tea around also.

By this time, Micky had returned. Without saying anything about the incident, he joined Selene at the table.

It was awkwardly quiet for a few minutes outside of the sound of forks on plates.

The more Selene ate, the worse she felt. She had no idea why she felt so bad about what she had just done and wanted so badly to talk to Micky about it but she didn't, not just yet anyway.

Micky had noticed that she wasn't eating her food but rather just pushing it around with the fork. When she laid down the fork and started sipping the tea, he took the opportunity.

"Selene, what's bothering you this morning?" He asked, placing one of his hands on hers across the table.

At first, Selene wanted to tell him nothing was bothering her and that she just didn't feel well but she decided rather than do that, she would talk with him knowing it would make her feel better.

"I...I'm really sorry about earlier." She finally said to him.

"About what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know I didn't...but I didn't have to give you that look whenever you came into the kitchen this morning. That was uncalled for." She continued.

Micky pondered briefly what she had said.

"Everybody's disgusting when they wake up." He said and laughed.

He knew she probably still wondered why she married someone who was that much older than she was and she probably hadn't got a really good look at him the night before whenever they went to bed. Maybe even some of the scars that still remained on his body from the accident had caught her attention as well. Or maybe it was just that he was old and showing it.

"No, everybody isn't disgusting when they wake up...I just hadn't really gotten comfortable with seeing you without clothes, that's all." She told him. "You aren't disgusting" she added...and she meant that.

"Was it always like that?" She added

Micky sat there for a moment before answering the question kicking around how exactly he would tell her this so that she believed him and he wouldn't come off as trying to take advantage of her.

"No, it wasn't always like this." He said, then stopped.

"Well what was it like?" Selene asked him nearly demanding an answer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." She quickly said.

"Selene, it's ok. I realize that you've been through a horrific ordeal and you're just trying to find your place in life again." Micky told her.

With that, Selene became mellow again. This was the effect of Micky on her. He knew what to say and how to say it to bring order back into life.

"I'll be right back" Micky told her.

When he returned, he had a small box of photos that he placed on the table.

"You were going to put these in some sort of photo album a while back but never got around to it yet because of everything that's happened." He told her, dumping them out onto the middle of the table in a pile. There were about 50 photos there. All of Micky and Selene. A few of the places they'd been, some from around the house and a few in the hospital.

"This was our life." He told her. "I don't want to just tell you about it. I want to show you. I don't want you to have to wonder about anything. I think you might remember more if you actually saw it." He continued.

Selene was overwhelmed with all the photos. She sifted through them. A large portion of them were taken on their beach trip. Selene was dressed in the bikini while Micky was only wearing swim trunks in most of the pictures.

"You're so happy in this one." Selene pointed out as she picked up a photograph off of the table showing herself with Micky on the beach blanket all cuddled up, both of them staring directly into the camera.

Micky took the picture and looked at it. She saw a glowing smile come across his face whenever he saw it. She could tell that whatever memories this photo and event held for him were very sincere and from the heart. As she sifted through several more of the photos, she began to recollect some of the events. Micky just sat across from her not saying a word. Waiting. Waiting for her to remember something or for everything to just come back to her all at once.

As Selene continued to study the photos, and attempt to put the pieces together, she felt tears begin to sting at her eyes. She didn't really know why. She wanted so badly to remember all of the details of her life but she couldn't. She just had bits and pieces but there were a lot of missing pieces in between.

Before she realized what was happening, she succumbed to full blown crying. Micky quickly made his way around the table to her side.

"It's ok, love." He whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to himself for a hug. Selene, in turn, wrapped her arms around him and accepted the hug.

"I'm sorry, Micky." She said through sobs. She felt worse than she should have about the whole situation that took place earlier in the morning.

"Selene, it's ok. I'll just wear a shirt from now on." Micky told her, half joking and half being serious.

"No...No it isn't ok. I can see from these pictures that we were happy...no, not happy, crazy in love with each other and I just want back whatever we had. I really want it back." She told him. He continued to hug her.

"We'll get it back." He assured her.

After the breakfast fiasco, Selene went into the upstairs bedroom to look for more things that might spark a memory. She had a lot of stuff still packed up.

Micky was downstairs watching TV and had decided to just let her be for a while and see what happened. He eventually fell asleep in front of the TV and ended up getting a nap in before lunchtime.

In the meantime, Selene had managed to sift through a few of her boxes. They had been neatly stacked up the room upstairs that was supposed to be a bedroom but was now being used for a storage space. She couldn't do much with her arm in a cast.

She took the lid off of one of the boxes. Inside, she found another smaller box and took it out. It was about the size of a shoe box and had decorative print on the outside. It was clearly some sort of memory box. When she took off the lid, she found photos of her with her mother, a few picture of her father and even some of her with previous boyfriends.

Her attention was drawn to one photo in particular that was in the bottom of the box staring back at her after she had looked through all of the rest of them. The photo gave her a creepy vibe. She picked it up to take a closer look at it. The contents of the photo sent chills down her spine. She dropped it back into the box and scooted away from it. Just then, Selene bumped into a stack of boxes that had been stacked on the opposite side of the room causing them to tumble. With that, she blacked out.

Somewhere on another plane, in another time and in another place far away from Selene's little mishap in the upstairs bedroom, machines were beeping, buzzing and monitoring all things monitor-able elsewhere. Nurses walked from room to room dressed in clean, crisp scrubs. Doctors crowded the nurses stations and orderlies went from room to room checking on patients. The awful scent of hospital food filled the air and at the same time, somewhat made Micky feel rather nauseated as he flipped channels on the hospital television that was mounted on the wall in the private room. Nothing was on television that interested him. He was just channel surfing in order to kill time and pass the day away. Nothing was ever on the television here.

To his right, was a large window similar to that of which you'd find in a hotel room. It had vertical blinds that could be opened or completely drawn back from in front of the window and hidden behind the pale mauve curtains that hung on either side of the window. Beside the television was a clock on the wall. At this time, it was around 7 P.M. The sun would be setting soon. Micky could watch another sunset from the window in the room. He rather enjoyed that. It was one of the few forms of amusement that he had enjoyed over the past little while and now, had come to look forward to in between the hourly visits from doctors, nurses and orderlies. He had seldom spoken to the hospital staff as they entered and left the room. He just hadn't felt like talking to anyone.

At Micky's left was the table on wheels that can be positioned across the bed for patients to use for food, cards, or whatever else they might find to amuse themselves. Amusement wasn't something that Micky was particularly interested in at this time and therefore hadn't bothered to utilize the table. A little further left, just beyond the table, was Selene's hospital bed.

It had been almost exactly 4 days since the incident with Trevor back at the hotel. In the meantime, Micky had filled out police reports and taken care of the vast majority of that sort of thing. The police had been checking in every hour, on the hour to see whether or not Selene was conscious. As it turns out, she had taken a hard hit on the back of her head that no one really knew about until her arrival at the hospital. This resulted in a severe concussion and swelling of the brain. Micky had been told that her situation seemed to be improving and that she should be awake if in fact that was the case-very soon. Still, Micky sat in the room, never leaving except when necessary and ordered to do so. Otherwise, he remained in the room at her side because he desperately wanted to be there whenever she woke up. Apparently her injuries were very serious, serious enough that the doctor had warned him about complications such as full blown amnesia, temporary amnesia and worse yet-brain damage. Micky had already decided that either way it went, he was still going to keep Selene and love her. What she had done for him was worth it to him. He wasn't going to ditch her if she needed him. He shuddered at the thought of his life without her. In fact, he had no idea what he would do without her. He did know if she hadn't of come to his rescue when he was in the hospital, he wouldn't have had the will or stamina to recover as well as he had. In fact, he fully believed that he would have ended up in a nursing home or some other similar facility by now if she hadn't been with him. He would have given up on life by now.

He was so much in love with her, he didn't really care if she came out of this with some sort of brain damage or limitation. He just wanted her to come back to him and be alive. He wanted to hold her again, kiss her again and take her home with him again. Home to their new home in Arizona.

Since he had purchased the home, he had taken it upon himself to make phone calls and arrange for packing and moving of their main belongings with the minor stuff to follow soon after into the new house that had been purchased. He also arranged for Selene's car to be delivered and also arranged for a Realtor to list their old house for sale. By now, most of his furniture should be waiting at the new house for him.

 _There was blackness-thick, inky blackness that sometimes took on shades of dark purple but eventually swirled back into blackness. The weight of the blackness was exceedingly heavy. So heavy that it was tiring to try and make one's way through the blackness._

Micky had noticed that Selene's heart rate had ever-so-slightly increased on the heart monitor that she had been hooked to. This made him anxious.

 _The black light faded swirled into gray and slowly became a sort of haze. It was still peppered with purple and black smatterings of shadows. The air felt somewhat warm and welcoming in this place. It wasn't ideal but it felt ok._

Micky studied the lime green cast on Selene's left arm. She had picked that color in the ER before she lost consciousness. He had coaxed her to pick that color but he didn't even know if it was her favorite color. There were a lot of things he didn't know about Selene. Things that he should know and wanted to know. The little things that make up the glue that sticks life together. He knew nothing about her family's history, very little about her family its self and hardly anything about her childhood or background. These were all things that he was interested in. He just hadn't taken the time to sit down and have these discussions with her at length. They had been caught up in other things. This made Micky feel bad to the point of guilt. He felt as though he hadn't really paid attention to Selene over the past several months. He had loved her but there was so much more that should have went into that than what he had been putting in. This was exactly the same sort of relationship that he had wanted out of his last marriage and he hadn't got it no matter how hard he had tried. His last wife just hadn't really taken interest in anything outside of having his money to throw around at her own interest. He had desperately wanted a communication based relationship and hadn't had it up to this point and now he had every opportunity to have that and was just now realizing that he hadn't acted on it because he had been so used to going through the motions all of these years and he really didn't know what to do or how to do it.

 _The gray whispers of air were now fading into a white fog-like substance that hung in the air similar to clouds. They were fluffy white. They might have even been clouds. It's uncertain. The air was very warm at this point and there was a slight breeze. A pleasant, still sort of breeze that came along every so often to refresh the air. The light had a warm, white hue but not a source just yet. Its source hadn't made its self known._

Micky periodically was drawn back to the heart monitor. It remained consistent with what a normal healthy person's heart rate should be. This made him feel positive about the outlook of things even though Selene hadn't woke up yet.

The gray was completely gone, nothing but pure, white surrounded the environment. All of a sudden, the source of light was revealed. It burned away and banished all of the foggy substance surrounding the source. It was a pure, white light. A warm light-like nothing earthly that anyone had ever seen. It diminished any darkness from its presence and refused to let it return. It also prohibited negative energy and only put out positive.

As Micky continued to watch Selene, he remembered how she had brought him back from the 'other side' of his own mental prison. How she had somehow formulated in her own mind that if she opened his eye herself, he would magically be there waiting to come back to her. He was and he did. He couldn't think of any medical reason that doing something this would cause a problem so he decided to just give it a try. The worst that would happen would be that nothing would happen. Micky moved closer to the side of the bed. He placed his hand alongside her face. She had a pretty face. Her lips were very defined however, there was a bruise on the other side of her face just underneath the eye from the incident.

 _The white light continued beaming from the source which was light its self. It continued putting off a healthy warmth like nothing earthly that had ever been witnessed and then went black. Somebody had flipped the switch on the light, pulled the plug and at the same time ejected Selene directly back onto the hospital bed where she belonged. It felt as though somebody had turned off Heaven's porch light on her, prohibited her from entering that Great Kingdom of eternal peace and sent her back where she came from._

The darkness came into focus quickly but at a gradual rate, revealed the ceiling, an IV bag and some strands of hair that had become rumpled. She felt something warm on the side of her face to her right and tried to move her eyes in that direction to see what or who it might be. She saw him sitting beside the bed, leaned forward in the chair with his hand on the side of her face. It was mingled with her hair. His fingers played gently in her hair for a few seconds before he said anything.

Micky smiled. It was a soft, sweet smile. His expression was one of relief and love at the same time. Those dark brown eyes penetrated the haze of what was left of the unconscious state Selene had been in for the past several days.

"Welcome back sweety." Micky said in a soft tone as he continued to lightly rub the side of her face with his gentle fingertips.

Selene didn't say anything. She took a moment to look around the room, at the walls, at the furnishings, and the other stuff that was sitting around in there and then returned her gaze back to Micky.

In a voice not above a whisper she began to speak. "What happened? The boxes...they fell and..." Selene stopped.

Micky responded to this statement in what seemed to Selene as odd.

"What boxes? There were no boxes." He said, a little confused as to what she was talking about but then again, she did get whacked on the head pretty good.

"...And I remember..." Selene said, then trailed off as though she were just meandering through her own thoughts privately.

"What _do_ you remember, love?" Micky asked her. At this point, honestly wondering what she was thinking about, what she remembered and if it was correct.

"Who you are, us...things like that." She told him, still obviously thinking about it to herself and not letting much come out in the form of verbal communication.

"What?" Micky asked, puzzled.

"When you took me home from the hospital, I didn't remember anything and you made me remember." She attempted to explain. This only made sense to her since the whole thing seemed to have been a figment of her own imagination in her unconsciousness.

"Selene, you haven't left this hospital since you got here." Micky told her, thinking she was at best, slightly confused. "And I don't really know what it is that you think you're remembering." He continued.

"We went back to your house, you helped me put on a shirt because I couldn't get this cast through the sleeve...and then there was dinner on the back deck..." She stopped and looked at Micky, who by now was seriously wondering what sort of drugs they had put in her IV drip.

"Selene, honey, you have been in this hospital for the better part of the week and you haven't left or went anywhere. We're in Phoenix now. You were just talking about the house in California." He explained. "And I think I should probably tell you that we're not going back to that house because I've had all of our stuff shipped to the new house here." He advised her.

"New house..." She said and stopped.

"Yes, love, I bought us a house that's accessible, in a warm climate and has all sorts of equipment that I can use to get back on my feet. We will be going back home to it as soon as you're feeling up to it." He explained.

"That...that sounds nice." Selene said, still in a quiet tone, still a bit confused.

"Selene, I'll be right back. I am going to go find a nurse or a doctor to come in here and check you out." Micky said to her as he went out into the hallway. There were several nurses pushing carts and making notes on clip boards. Down the hall to his right was the big nurse's station. He went there because there were usually doctors hanging around this area more so than any other area on the floor.

Once he had explained to the head nurse what was going on, she dispatched a doctor to Selene's room immediately. In fact, the doctor was already there having come from a different location by the time Micky got back.

"Are you her husband?" The doctor asked whenever Micky entered the room.

"Yes." Micky answered "How's Selene doing?" He said

"Well, Selene seems to have recovered as normally as to be expected from her head injuries. We will want to keep her here for a few more days just to monitor her condition. In the meantime, I think you should go take a rest yourself. You've been here for days." The doctor said.

"I'm not leaving Selene." Micky said in a blunt tone that was not to be reckoned with.

The doctor continued "Well, she should be ok to walk around a little bit if she wants to, eat, sit and all the normal stuff. Just don't over do it."

"And she might need some help walking." The doctor said, obviously directed at Micky and his condition as though he might want to get somebody else to help her. "She did get a head injury and her balance may be a little off. It usually is for the first little bit."

Micky didn't say anything. He just sat there listening to the doctor talk about various medications and things and watched him check the chart. Whenever the doctor turned around to leave the room, Micky stopped him.

"Hey, can you get that stuff out of her arm?" Micky asked in more of a commanding tone than a request. "I don't think its necessary if she's able to eat and stuff." he continued.

The doctor nodded. "I'll send somebody in soon to take care of that, Mr. Dolenz." He said as he left the room.

In a few minutes, a nurse came in, greeted them both and removed all of the IVs from Selene's arm that wasn't in a cast. The nurse also checked the wound on the arm as well as the fingers sticking out from the end of the cast and gave her approval that everything looked as it should.

Selene just laid there watching everything, taking everything in without saying a word, only flinching once in a while when a piece of tape was ripped from her skin or a needle caused pain coming out. The last of everything Selene was plugged into was finally removed and a nurse took it out of the room and closed the door leaving Micky and Selene in a now quiet room that wasn't beeping or flashing or any of the other stuff that comes along with being in a hospital.

Micky had already moved closer to the side of the bed where Selene lay. The bed looked particularly uncomfortable to him. He remembered the last time he was in a bed similar to this and that it was especially uncomfortable having to continually lie there flat on the bed.

"You wanna sit up, Selene? Micky asked, reaching for the controls attached to the bed that would move the upper portion of the bed into a sitting position.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Selene said quietly, still in thought about the boxes, dinner on the back deck and the California house and still with that blank look on her face.

Micky pressed the button that made the bed raise up. "Is that alright, honey?" he said to Selene, the control still in his hand.

She nodded.

He put the control back where he got it from and then proceeded to lower the rail on the side of the bed so that he didn't have to reach over it to touch her.

Selene was still somewhat stunned in appearance but she was beginning to get used to her surroundings. This was evident to Micky when she finally moved a little bit in the bed and began to talk to him.

Still in a quiet voice she spoke "Micky, when can we go home? I don't want to stay here." She said. She was obviously not entirely comfortable given the fact that she proceeded to change positions and shift frequently in the bed.

Micky, taking hold of her hand, comforted her. "The doctor said they wanna keep you in here for another day or two just to make sure that you're doing alright. You took a pretty hard hit when you..." He paused for a second. "When you fell." He finally said, looking away from her eyes and down toward the bed when he said it.

"I'm still a little confused." Selene finally told Micky. "And scared too." She added.

"Confused about what?" Micky asked her, not fully understanding where the earlier conversation topics came from.

"Just how I ended up here. You said I fell. I thought some boxes fell on me." She said.

Micky thought about it for a few moments before answering her, still holding her hand all the while.

"Well, there were no boxes." He told her to start with. "But here's what did actually happen." He said. "We were here to look at a house that I ended up buying-I told you about that-and then out of nowhere this ex boyfriend of yours attacked us. You were thrown to the floor which is how you broke your arm. Somewhere along the way you hit your head and then I fired a shot and grazed you with the bullet." Micky explained indicating the broken arm and the bullet wound as he detailed the chain of events to her.

Selene stared at him, mouth open in disbelief at what he had just told her. Although not incredibly detailed, she still found it horrific that she had been attacked and shot.

Micky could see this. He took her hand that wasn't in the cast again, this time in both of his hands. Tears began to well up in his eyes and then one finally fell on his cheek and ran down his face.

"Selene, I am so sorry..." He tried to tell her. "I shot you." he finished the sentence and then couldn't get anymore out of his mouth before he choked up. The mere thought that he had even pointed a gun in Selene's general direction and endangered her life like that was too much for him to handle after the fact. Too painful for him to think about.

Selene was still completely shocked at what he had told her just now.  
Finally, after a few moments of silence, she finally spoke. "You...you done this?" She asked quietly and then without waiting for an answer, she realized what she had said, although posed as a question, was not the right thing to say at the moment.

Micky had begun to weep quietly yet uncontrollably, slumped over in his chair, his face in his hands.

Without a huge amount of effort, Selene managed to push herself up in bed. This was a bit painful but she needed to be in a better position. She reached toward Micky and placed her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

"Micky..." She said aloud in attempt to get his attention. She lightly squeezed his shoulder as her hand rested there. He still sat there crying but managed to reach his right hand up to his left shoulder where her hand rested and took it. He squeezed it somewhat harder than usual and then began attempting to compose himself.

"It'll be alright, Micky love." Selene said, her hand still in his hand resting on his shoulder.

These were the words of comfort that he needed to hear to break the horrible spell of his own thoughts of horror. Hearing those five words soothed his mind. He rubbed at his eyes until the tears subsided.  
"I'm just so sorry I let this happen." He finally said to Selene, once again taking her hand in both of his as he said this.

Selene had managed to gather a few more of her thoughts as she watched this little display of Micky becoming horribly upset about her being shot. It helped drag her out of the state of wooziness and back into full reality. Her head hurt.

"I'm just so glad you're here and we're both alright." She said reaching out toward him for a hug. He reciprocated by taking her in his arms as best he could from his sitting position and pulling her close to him carefully so as not to hurt her.

"I love you so much." He whispered in her ear before letting her go.

"Love you too." Selene whispered back as she pulled out of the hug, gently brushed a kiss on his cheek and resumed her position on the hospital bed.

"I got a green cast." Selene noted as she was attempting to find something to fill the silence and make temporary conversation about something outside of what had actually happened. She could tell that Micky wasn't up to a discussion about it and neither was she.

"Yeah, you did." Micky replied. "You like green." He said more as a statement of the obvious than anything else then trailed off.

"So, the house..." Selene began.

"It's very nice." Micky said. "It's got a pool, it's spacious and it's accessible." He added.

Selene sat on the bed listening as he continued detailing the house to her.

"There's a fully accessible kitchen, all of the floors are tile or very low pile carpet, bathrooms are large an accessible and I think there's even a hot tub as well." He told her.

Selene was at this point in a state of partial amazement. There would be a black Mercedes SLK sitting in the driveway, a large house that was very modern and fancy waiting for them and all sorts of other amenities that she would have otherwise never even thought of having in her previously frugal life before she met Micky.

"That all sounds very nice." She told him then leaned her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes for a bit.

"Anything wrong, love?" Micky asked, obviously a little concerned about her.

"No, just a bit of a headache." Selene said, still keeping her eyes shut for the moment. "Resting my eyes a little." She added.

"Oh, alright." Micky said as he lowered the upper part of the bed just enough so that she could still rest comfortably and he could reach her head. He proceeded to give her a gentle massage on each side of her head at the temple in a circular direction with his fingertips.

"Feel a little better?" He asked her in the middle of the process. He knew it did because a slight smile had come across her face during the process.

"Mmm hmm." She said, not even wanting to comment but would rather relax.

"That's it, just lay back and relax, darling. It'll feel better in a little bit. You did take a pretty decent whack on the head when you fell and I think there's a lump on the side of it too." He said as he still continued to rub her head.

After a few moments, Selene fell asleep. He knew that she was probably tired and exhausted from the events that had recently taken place. He watched her as she slept once again.

Out of nowhere, a couple of hours later, a nurse came in and checked her vitals. She ended up waking Selene but it was for the better anyway. The doctor had decided to allow her to be released from the hospital since Micky had purchased a house nearby and she could go home and rest more comfortably yet still be close to the hospital.

"I can't wait to get home and lie down in my own bed." Selene said as she sat on the edge of the hospital bed. "This thing's not one bit comfortable!" She remarked.

"You should try lying in one for weeks at a time." Micky said, referring to the time he spent in the hospital.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Selene was cut off by Micky.

"It's ok, love." He said, placing his hand on the upper part of her bare thigh and at the same time, giving it a little squeeze. She was only wearing the hospital gown at the time. Oddly enough, Micky found her sexy in it. He knew she wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

"Shall I run to the house and grab you some clothes so that you will have something to wear home?" Micky asked.

Not willing to deprive Micky of doing something that he had offered to do, she agreed to allow him to drive the car. She was reasonably sure that he could handle it for a short distance.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. It should only take about 15 minutes." He told her.

Once Micky was home in the new house, he parked in the driveway, lifted the wheelchair out of the passenger seat, unfolded it and transferred into it. The garage was fully accessible and provided entry into the house that opened up into a foyer where Micky would have access to the elevator. He went to the second floor. Most of their things were still in boxes but he knew which box the clothes had been packed in. Besides, he was going to bring her one of his outfits. He remembered the sweat pants that she had brought to him while he was in the hospital and how much better it made him feel so he got that same outfit for her. They were sweats so it didn't matter whether they fit or not. They'd be comfortable and he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. He picked up a few other personal items that he thought Selene would appreciate and threw them in a bag then returned to the car and drove back to the hospital.

While Micky had been gone, Selene had been busy filling out paper work for discharge.

Micky popped into the room and sat the bag he had on his lap onto the bed.

"I'm just gonna go bring the car around and I'll wait for you at the front door." He told her.

"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I change clothes." She said and opened the bag. Micky left.

Selene pulled out the items that were in the bag. There was a cute pair of her lacy underwear in blue, the blue sports bra that was the same color as the panties, a pair of socks, some flip flops, deodorant, perfume and the sweats. Along with this, there was also a hairbrush. Micky had thought of everything. She quickly pulled herself together and started to walk out the door. A nurse with a wheelchair stopped her.

"Sorry toots, you'll have to sit down and be rolled out. Hospital policy." The older, heavy nurse said in a stern voice as she indicated for Selene to sit in the wheelchair.

Without saying anything, Selene sat down in the chair and placed her things on her lap. The nurse called an orderly to take her out to meet Micky at the front door. The ride seemed longer than it should have been but she spent the whole time thinking-thinking about things from this particular point of view, Micky's point of view. She had never sat in his wheelchair or been in that position in her entire life. Now she was. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to have to live life from this perspective and not be able to move certain parts of the body. She was caught up in thought by the time they got to the door.

Micky was waiting in the car for her just like he said he would be whenever she reached the automatic doors. He found it difficult to look at her in a wheelchair and it hit him again-her mortality, his mortality, how easily either one of them could have died in various events in their lives. He didn't cry or have any other emotional outburst of the kind but he did get a look across his face that Selene had noticed.

By this time, the orderly had wheeled her all the way to the car so that she could just stand up from the chair and sit right back down in the vehicle. Once she was in the car and had shut the door, put on her seat belt and placed her bag in the floor at her feet, she looked over at Micky. He still had an odd look on his face.

"What's the matter, Micky?" She asked.

"Nothing."

She knew it was more than nothing and pressured him again with that quirky little look she always gave him as if to say "yeah right, I know there's something bothering you."

Micky knew what that look meant.

"It was just that when I saw you in that chair coming out the door, the issue of our mortality hit me. It made me think that you could have very easily been in the same condition I'm in over that...that incident and that we could both be dead by now." He explained as he drove the car out of the parking lot and toward their new home.


	28. Chapter 28

**The Man Next Door**

 **(Part 29)**

Two months had passed since Micky and Selene moved into their new home in Phoenix. Things had been going well and life was good. Selene had made a full recovery, Micky was working toward recovery in whatever capacity he was able to achieve and he'd even been in a recording studio a few times in between to work on some new material for his first release in years.

The phone rang on the other side of the kitchen. Selene had been sitting at a large table in the dining room working on some bills and other household paper work when the phone rang. She hadn't heard from Micky in a few hours and hoped that it would be him.

She darted across the dining room and into the kitchen where the cordless phone was ringing.

"Hello"

It was David calling to see how they were both doing.

"Oh, hi David!" she said and then listened to something in between. "Yes, we're both doing just fine, thank you."

The conversation went on for a little while, Selene told David all about the house, how happy they were to be there and even invited him to stop by and spend a few days with them if he happened to be in the area.

"That sounds lovely, dear. I'll call back later for Micky." David said, ending the phone call with a happy British "goodbye luv" at the end.

It was at this time that memories of their previous trip to visit David in Beavertown came to mind. She had so enjoyed that trip and Micky had proposed to her there during what she believed was the most romantic time of her life next to their secret wedding. All of those thoughts made her smile. She forgot that she was still standing there in the kitchen holding the phone in one hand. It started beeping at her after the line remained open for a certain length of time. The beeping brought her back to reality; she pressed the button on the phone to hang up and then sat it back in its wall cradle where it had been before David had called.

"It would be a wonderful idea to get married and have a public wedding in Beavertown where we were engaged and just invite a few of our friends to the ceremony" Selene said to herself as she strolled back through the house.

This house still seemed huge to her. She was not used to living in a mansion. What she had been used to was being moved from one small place to another, a temporary, cramped lifestyle and as an adult, living frugally on the marginal income she was able to earn as a writer. She had never lived beyond her means and didn't intend to start doing so at this point but it was still magnificent where she lived now.

"This really is how the other half live" She said aloud to herself as she headed out to the pool area in back. This area was one of her favorite places in the house. From this area, she could watch the sunset and observe the stars come out in the twilight sky. She loved the point when the sunset became a bloody orange pattern across the sky with some purple and blue hues mixed in but the sun wouldn't be going down for quite a few hours. For now, she just wanted to sit at the outdoor table and ponder ideas.

Micky had spent four hours at the recording studio across town and had managed to get several tracks recorded that day but he still had no idea how long it would be before he would be ready to release this new collection of tunes. He had no idea what he would call it. Most of the songs he wanted to record on the new album would represent a new chapter in his life—a happy one, with Selene but a select few would be representative of some darker moments in his past and recovery. These were the ones that he seemed to be having a hard time with emotionally and had just decided to let it go for a few days and try again later. He was starting to get tired and would really like to be home with Selene instead of on the other side of town alone with his car and his guitar.

A short while later, Selene saw Micky's Mercedes coming toward the house. She always got so excited whenever he had been gone and came back. The same sort of excitement that she remembered whenever her daddy would return home after being gone all day or for weeks at a time when he was in the military. She went out to meet him and help him out of the car.

Micky pulled the sunglasses down on his face that he had been wearing, exposing his brown eyes and gave Selene a playful growl with a sexy grin to go with it. This sent Selene into a brief state of sexual ecstasy, made her heart race and her face feel warm.

"He's still got it!" She thought to herself as she opened his car door and leaned in for a kiss. The two of them exchanged sexually charged kisses on the mouth and a few other parts of the body slightly below the neck for the next few minutes before Selene brought Micky's chair around from the other side of the car. Once in the house, Selene and Micky went to the kitchen to decide what to fix for dinner. Selene was in the mood for hamburgers, of all things so they decided to grill out that night. There was a lovely BBQ area just out from the pool deck.

Selene prepared the beef, seasoned it and patted it out. She made it spicy, just like Micky liked it. While she was doing this, Micky went out to the BBQ and started a fire so that they could grill the burgers. He returned and got some dishes for the table at the pool area. Selene followed close behind him with the raw meat that was to be cooked on the grill in the back yard. She would let Micky take care of cooking the meat while she returned to get the usual condiments. Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles, cheese and extra hot sauce. She also toasted some buns in the kitchen oven and took those outside to the outdoor table as well.

Selene arranged items on the table, pulled some Coke out of the mini fridge that they kept nearby and poured it into the glasses that had been brought out earlier. She watched Micky out at the BBQ as he continued grilling the burgers she had patted out. She found herself wanting him again.

By now, the burgers must be almost done. Selene had added diced onions to the mix along with the spicy seasoning that Micky loved.

"These are about ready." Micky said as Selene came over to where he had been grilling. She noticed that he had burned his arm a little bit. Probably from some grease that had popped up off the grilling area or perhaps the fire had slightly burned him. Nonetheless, there was a small red place that had popped up on his tanned arm and a slight blister. Selene took the plate of burgers to the table where they would eat and then went inside to get a cloth soaked in vinegar. That's what her mother had always done for her whenever she had gotten a burn as a child whether it be sunburn or otherwise. It seemed to take the burn out and of course it would sanitize the area naturally. Selene patted Micky's arm with the vinegar soaked cloth carefully.

"You really don't have to do that" he said "Its just a grease burn."

"Yeah I know, but you should keep it clean and it seems like the minor burns actually cause more pain sometimes than a more serious one." She said as she took the cloth back into the house.

When she returned, Micky was already at his place at their table fixing his burger on the plate as though nothing had happened. Truth be told, he probably wasn't in any pain at all but Selene had this need to care for him and enjoyed it immensely. She had never felt so intimately close to someone before in her life and she felt that being able to take care of him brought them closer, built trust in their relationship and made it a good solid relationship.

"You're just full of tricks, aren't ya?" Micky said and smiled up at her and she smiled back.

"I know a thing or two" She said.

As the two of them enjoyed their hamburgers out by the pool, Selene made general conversation about the day at the studio, asked about things Micky had recorded and in the process, had been turning him on all the while. She had this way that she leaned in over the table that drove him crazy when she talked. He had often found himself wishing that he wasn't bound to this wheelchair and could just stand up, pick her up in his arms and carry her to the bedroom where he would lay her down and proceed to do things to her that at this point, he had only dreamed about doing and she had probably not yet experienced.

"Micky, what would you think if I told you I had some wedding ideas?" Selene asked casually.

"I'd say that I would love to hear them." He said, very interested in what she had been thinking about.

"Well, I'd like to have it somewhere that's special to us" she said over a sip of Coke

"Where would you like to have the wedding"? Micky inquired

Selene sat across the table from him looking at him with those huge lovely eyes of hers and that cute smile on her face as she told him how she would like to return to Pennsylvania to be married in a small ceremony that they would invite only their close friends to attend.

"We could have it at David's house if you think he might be open to that idea" She suggested.

Micky sat silently for a moment thinking about this very simple idea that she had presented to him about their wedding and how much more simplified this one was going to be compared to his last one. He had secretly dreaded beginning work on the planning of a large scale wedding like the one his ex wife had demanded he put on for them several years earlier. Her dress alone had cost over twenty thousand dollars and here Selene was just wanting to go off to the middle of the country-in the middle of nowhere and get hitched.

"I think that sounds fantastic" Micky said, after a brief silence.

"David called here earlier today for you. I spoke to him for a bit and he said he would call back later for you. Maybe you could mention it to him then." Selene said.

"I think that's a good idea. I really like that idea actually." Micky told her. "...and I'll discuss it with him."

Selene smiled at him from across the table as he moved some of the dirty dishes around to stack them and return them inside the house.

"I'll go ring him up after we clear the table" Micky said as he put the last of the stacked dishes on his lap and headed back inside.

Micky's study was a nicely decorated room consisting of a computer sitting on a desk that was readily accessible to him, a phone nearby and a few other odds and ends. A task chair was parked over in the corner for Selene if she wanted to use the desk but it was always pushed back in that spot when she was finished so that Micky could just use the desk whenever he wanted to without having to move things around. There were shelves for books on one wall, a large window on the outside facing wall and a couch just inside the door along the interior wall.

Micky really liked the atmosphere of this room. With a little bit of decoration modification, it could be his man cave. They hadn't redecorated the house fully as of yet. Selene seemed to really like the southwestern style.

Micky picked up the phone and dialed David's number. He answered on the 4th ring.

"Hey Dave, it's Micky. Selene said you had called for me earlier"

"Oh yeah, I did. Wanted to see how you were coming along" David said "New house and all."

"Never happier to tell you the truth old friend." Micky exclaimed to his friend who was more like a brother.

"That's great, Micky. I'm happy to hear it. You deserve to be happy and I really believe you've found it with that girl." he went on.

"Selene's one of a kind, that's the truth..." Micky paused for a moment "That's why I married her" He told David.

There was brief silence between the two of them and then Micky realized he'd let it slip again. David began to speak.

"What did you just...you did what?!" he stuttered "Micky, when did you guys..." He stopped short realizing that Micky needed to say something.

"Dave, I ...I didn't mean to tell you that...I slipped. Things have just been so crazy for the past year in my life and then she came along and now things have been so great...well, I loved her and she loved me. It was her idea to elope.

"Romantic, Dolenz" David said as he urged Micky to continue with the story on the other end of the line.

"Well, we went to the beach you know, just for some down time and to take in some scenery, get away from the realities of everyday life...and we both mutually decided that we wanted to get married on that trip." He explained.

"We found us a preacher, we went down to the beach and we had him marry us in a little private ceremony, just the three of us." He continued.

"Wow...then there was some truth to it!" David said excitedly.

"What?" Micky asked, pausing so that his friend would know that an explanation was necessary for the odd remark he had just made.

"I was at the grocery store a while back picking up some things. While I was waiting in line, I glanced over the covers of some of those trash magazines...you know, tabloids. The ones that always used to hound us back in the day."

"Yes, I remember those, David. You and your first wife were all over the covers and when they found out you had a kid, they thought that was going to be the end of our careers on television. Yes, I remember those publications." Micky said almost in a terse tone knowing where the information had come from and wondering just how far it had spread.

"Well, I saw this fuzzy photo in one of those magazines and recognized you so I read the article. It was a beach photo. The article wasn't too great though." He explained.

"David, there's something I gotta tell you." Micky said after a bit of another pause. It was never good when Micky called him something besides "Dave" that was kind of like when mom uses your full name to address you. You know you've done something. "Selene and I have been the victims of some pretty vicious stalking. We thought her ex was responsible for it and that it was a jealousy thing but it hasn't completely stopped. There's been photos turning up recently that I've been made aware of in a lot of different publications, a few even made it to the other side of the pond. I think someone else is doing it." Micky told him in confidence. "It's really wrecking hell on our relationship.

"Oh wow dude, that's not good at all." David said in a bit of shock. "You're not even a teen idol anymore, man" he continued trying to poke fun at the whole situation.

"I know...Believe me, I know." Micky said.

After a bit more banter about the serious things, Micky and David began discussing casually again and spent the better part of the next half hour talking about daily life. Micky told David what they had been doing and David told Micky about the new things he had been working on at his place. He had landscaped the whole yard around his house, cut back some of the trees and claimed the house was now visible from the road.

"I'll believe that when I see it" Micky said, laughing. David had never been one to partake in property upkeep or these kinds of things. He dabbled in it and usually hired someone else to do the hard stuff while he was out on the road. He spent a lot of time out on the road touring more so than his other band mates.

Micky finally got around to asking him about their wedding plans.

"David, Selene and I were talking earlier over dinner and she really liked your place up there in Beavertown. She wants to get married there and have some of our close friends as guests. What do you think?" He asked.

"I think that sound absolutely wonderful" David said with excitement. "A party at my place!" he exclaimed.

David loved a good gathering and hosting things at his house, sadly, he didn't get the opportunity too often because most of his family lived in England and he only had family at his place seasonally.

The two ended their phone conversation with Micky having obtained the ok to proceed with wedding planning at David's house.

"Selene, where are you?" Micky said as he exited the study. He found her with her laptop at the bar in the kitchen surfing the internet. She hadn't heard him from the other side of the house when he had called for her. He came up behind her in the doorway. He could see the screen. She was looking at dresses.

"What are you looking at there?" He asked her, obviously wanting to know more about what she was doing.

"Just trying to find a pretty wedding dress." She said smiling down at him from the tall bar stool she was perched on.

On closer look, these weren't really wedding dresses, they were just white dresses. Nothing special about them. "Selene, but these aren't wedding dresses. These are just casual summer dresses with some shiny things adorning them." he explained.

"You don't like any of these?" She asked, seriously not seeing an issue with what she had been looking at. "I mean they are all less than a hundred dollars" She explained.

Micky took her left hand in his and held it looking up at her. "I bought you these rings because I love you and I wanted you to feel special when you wear them...and I want other people to know how special you are to me." He said in a heartfelt tone. "I didn't go cheap on them because for me, it had to be just right...and I want it to be just right for you too when you pick out a dress you'd like to be married in." He told her.

Selene sat there silently as Micky held her hand, running his fingers over her wedding rings.

"I just want this to be really special for us both" He finally said.

Selene was smiling a mushy smile at him by this time and came down off her stool still letting Micky hold her hand and sat down gently on his lap. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

"Maybe we could look for things together" She suggested. "Later tonight, just you and I."

"I like that." Micky said. "Let's do that. I'll help you pick something out or at least try to give you some ideas."

Later that evening instead of watching television, Micky and Selene cuddled up on their bed with the laptop prepared to look at different wedding dresses and plan their wedding.

Selene had already brought in a few extra pillows for the bed so that they'd be comfortable. She stacked them at the head of the bed so that they could lean back against them and placed one on Micky's side of the bed to elevate his feet since this had been found to keep him more comfortable. Micky transferred from the chair onto the bed and positioned himself comfortably. He still hadn't managed to get enough strength to swing his legs up onto the bed though. He was still working toward his physical therapy goal though.

Micky took the laptop and brought up a few websites that he had heard about and some bridal shops he had seen advertisements for either on television or otherwise. These pages had photos of all different styles of wedding dresses to pick from. He narrowed the search results by selecting a ball gown style. This reduced the number of dresses shown. He then selected only sweetheart tops which reduced the selection even further. Selene sat nearby watching him perform his search just to see what he would pick out on his own for a suggestion. She wanted to get some idea of what it was exactly that he liked to see her wearing. What would please him. After all, he would be paying for it.

He finally clicked on a beautiful gown that had Swarovski crystals that trailed down the dress like a cascade of shiny florals. The dress accentuated all of the proper curves and also featured a few embellishments on the bodice in addition to the crystals. Selene actually really liked this dress. It was gorgeous and she was in love with it.

"This...this right here would look beautiful on you." Micky said pointing at what he had just found and smiling. "I can see you coming down the aisle in it now." he added.

Selene took the laptop from him so that she could examine it further. That's when she saw it-the dress had a $13000.00 price tag!

"Micky, no, we can't do this...it's too much" she said, her eyes coming up from the screen to meet his.

"Sure we can, love. There's a shop downtown and I want us to go there tomorrow and check it out." He told her.

"Do you like it" He asked.

Selene paused taking another moment to look it over and found herself really falling in love with it on second look.

"Yes, Micky-I do really like it. It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen but it's thirteen thousand dollars!" She protested "And that's enough to buy a car or make some sort of a down payment on something..." She continued.

"Selene, It's really ok. I want you to have a beautiful wedding even if it's not going to be a large affair. I love you and I want you to have the experience to remember. I can give you that-please...just let me give you that." He said with some heartfelt concern.

Reluctantly, Selene agreed to go with him down to the bridal shop in town and try on some dresses.

"Maybe we can find something for you to wear as well while we're there." She said, this time smiling at him and giving him a sexy side eye glance.

Micky liked the idea until he realized once again his limitations and that he wouldn't find it really easy to just try on clothing at a store. He would need some assistance which would probably take a lot more time.

"Micky?" Selene said, reaching for his hand that was resting across his stomach. "What's bothering you, love?" She asked.

He took her hand and tugged her a little closer to him. "I was just trying to figure out how I'm going to try on clothes at that bridal shop. You know, we could just find an outfit we like and get that, bring it home and then try it on later." He told her.

"No! I won't have it, you're going to have the experience as well!" She told him "And I don't want to see you in your outfit until the wedding day!" She added.

 **The next day**

Selene awoke before Micky and decided to let him sleep in as per usual. He had gotten a lot better at getting himself put together for the day without any assistance from her for the most part and in the case that he did require assistance, it was because of something out of the ordinary that may happen-he couldn't reach something, couldn't find something or otherwise misplaced something.

By Mid morning, the couple found themselves already browsing dresses in a fancy little boutique shop in the downtown area. It was a nice store with a large selection of merchandise for both men and women as well as children and any other wedding attire you could think of. Selene approached the sales desk and gave the clerk the number of the dress she and Micky had looked at the night before online. It was in stock.

"I'd like to look at this dress and try it on" Selene told the clerk.

The clerk eyeballed her over her glasses and then referred to a catalog that was behind the counter.

"What's your budget and price range, miss?" The clerk ask in a somewhat snippy tone. The clerk was a middle aged woman with slightly graying hair tied up on the back of her head in a bun and appeared to be a no nonsense kind of person.

"Well, I don't know..." Selene responded. "I'd just like to look at that dress and try it on." She added, just really wanting to try the dress on and see how it looked on her. Dress shopping wasn't something that Selene partook in often or cared to really do often. She didn't like how store clerks were always hovering over her when she went in places like this. In fact, she would have much preferred to just go to the rack, pick out a dress, browse and try on the ones she picked without the hassle of a store clerk.

Micky was on the other side of the shop looking at men's attire while Selene was speaking with the clerk about her dress.

"You do know that this dress is going to be over thirteen thousand dollars don't you?" She asked in a condescending tone while looking over her glasses.

Selene knew right then what the lady was insinuating and responded. "Yes, I am well aware that this dress has a thirteen thousand dollar price tag and it would appear that it's way outside of my budget considering you've already made your assessment of me based solely on appearance alone but I assure you that the dress is well within my budget and I'd like to try it on...now please, Ma'am."

Selene couldn't believe what she had just said and that she had just whipped that comeback out. She had never reacted like that to anyone in the past and honestly, wasn't all that witty on the fly.

By this time, Micky had observed that there was some tension on the other side of the room and hurried to see what was going on.

"How's dress shopping going, love?" Micky asked Selene.

She was still somewhat shocked at herself for the comment she made to the store clerk who was obviously more frazzled now than before.

"I know who you are..." She said, looking at Micky and changing her expression from a grumpy frown to the giddy smile of a teenage girl who had just met her idol. "This must be your daughter!" She continued. "I'll be right back with the dress you wanted to see, miss!" The clerk said as she went back toward the rear of the shop where inventory was kept. She was nearly skipping.

Micky and Selene just looked at one another briefly until Selene explained what had just taken place with the clerk and how she was made to feel as though she wasn't good enough because she didn't appear to have the money to pay for the dress and the clerk obviously wasn't going to go through the trouble for her until Micky arrived and she recognized him then realized that the money was there.

"So, do you still want the dress?" Micky asked "Or would you like to shop somewhere else that carries the brand?" and then added "I'm sure we can find another shop that carries this same dress. It's a popular designer.

"Really? You think someplace else has the dress in stock? She asked.

"Yeah sure, come on." He said.

The two of them left the boutique store with the cranky clerk high and dry, returned to the car, and drove around the block. Micky pulled out his cell phone and accessed the internet searching for other shops that stocked the product they were looking for.

"There's six shops right here in town that actually show inventory in stock on that item" He told her. "And one of them is just a few miles down the road."

He gave Selene directions to the other store and within a few minutes, they were sitting int he parking lot of a larger store that appeared to have even more of the same kind of merchandise and then she saw it-the dress she was looking for was on a mannequin displayed in the window. It was so beautiful!

The couple went into the store and requested to try on the dress. Micky requested to look at some men's formal wear and was taken away to the other end of the store by another associate while Selene was taken to the back to a fancy dressing room area where she was provided not only with the dress but also with a petticoat, a garter, several pairs of shoes, several veils and of course the dress she was interested in. They also brought two other similar dresses that were slightly different in design that the consultant thought she might like and organized them in the fancy room. There was a privacy screen in the back for changing.

The dressing room was the largest she had ever been in. It was all done in muted colors, the furniture was upholstered in lavender crushed velvet, very classy. There was a sitting area, a pedestal and several full length mirrors as well as a vanity for makeup touch ups that had essentials like Kleenex and some cotton balls.

Micky's dressing room was much the same except the upholstery was done in gold crushed velvet and everything was masculine. The mirrors were trimmed in mahogany, the privacy screen was in the back, there were hooks for neck ties and other accessories, and some other accessories. The consultant working with Micky had picked out several different tuxedos for him to look at. A few black ones, a white one and a pale blue one. Micky had requested also a few fedoras to try on with suits. He was left in the dressing room to change into one of the outfits provided. He started with the black one and didn't really like the look so he switched to the pale blue. He only put the jacket on and really didn't like that. Somehow that color made him look much older. Finally he tried on the white suit and took the time to put the whole thing on right down to the shoes and hat. This looked great. He thought Selene would really like it as well. As he sat there in front of a full length mirror looking over himself, he really began to wonder if he was even half the man Selene deserved. This was the first time in a long time he had seen his whole self in a full length mirror. The consultant returned and took measurements so that the suit could be tailored to fit perfectly and left Micky to change back into his street clothes consisting of jeans, t-shirt and sneakers. He changed in front of the full length mirror taking a good look at his body while he was undressed. He noticed that he had managed to build his biceps quite a bit over the past several months but his legs appeared somewhat skinny and weak. He had lost some weight and didn't have quite as much of a spare tire through the mid section either. His abs weren't as ripped as they were twenty years ago, or even ten years ago for that matter but he was getting in better shape little by little. Selene had not known him then. That was probably a good thing. She had nothing to compare to.

Selene had tried on the dress and required assistance lacing up the back. Now that she had the full outfit on complete with the shoes a veil, bouquet, garder and a tiara in her hair, she walked over to face the full length mirror. Like many who see themselves for the first time in the wedding dress of their dreams, she began to cry tears of happiness. She felt beautiful and couldn't wait for her special day to come when Micky would see her walk down the aisle.


	29. Chapter 29

**The Man Next Door**

 **(Part 30)**

Micky was putting a lot of effort into his home physical therapy program and had really been pushing himself hard during the past few weeks. He had went from barely being able to stand with the assistance of locked heavy leg braces and a walker for stability and sort of dragging his feet around to being able to somewhat pick up his feet and take a few baby steps. This excited him and motivated him that much more to push himself daily to achieve his goals. The process was tiresome and often painful for him but he wouldn't stop.

The weather was nice outside on the patio as Micky concentrated on moving his right foot forward while holding onto the walker for added stability and support. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the walker and then finally it happened. He saw his foot finally doing what he was consciously telling it to do. His right foot barely lifted off the floor and slid forward. Now he concentrated on the left foot and repeated this until he had moved 8 feet across the patio by the pool. When he turned around to come back to the starting point, he saw Selene standing in the archway watching him and smiling.

He returned the smile as she walked out onto the patio near his wheelchair and waited for him to return. The trip back across the patio took him several minutes.

Selene stepped out from behind his wheelchair so that she was beside of him and put her arm around him being ever so careful not to shift his balance in doing so. This was one of the few times that she had actually been able to stand beside him upright and get a good idea of her stature compared to his. He was tall, that was for sure. Tall and handsome.

"You're looking nice today, Micky" She told him as she stood beside him. "Need anything to drink? I made lemonade earlier"

His smile lit up. He hadn't had lemonade in such a long time he had almost forgotten what it taste like. "Sure, I'd love some." He said, as he stood there seemingly effortlessly for the moment.

Selene kissed him -close to the corner of his mouth just the way he liked- and then returned into the house to get the lemonade. Micky having pushed himself a little more than the previous day, let himself down in the wheelchair, unlocked the leg braces and repositioned his feet on the footrests. He moved over to the patio table that they frequently enjoyed just as Selene returned with two tall glasses of fresh lemonade. Micky picked his up and drank more than half of it before setting the glass back down on the table. He was thirsty and had actually worked up a bit of a sweat.

"I'm really proud of you and how you've been working so hard at this physical therapy program, Micky" Selene told him as she sipped her glass of lemonade. "I just don't want you to push yourself too hard or feel like you have to do anything in a short period of time. You've got to give it time and work with your body." She explained. Selene had seen how much harder Micky had pushed himself over the past few weeks since they had visited the bridal shop and she was under the impression that he was going to force himself to be able to walk by the time of their wedding in just a few short months.

"Maybe we could do the pool sometime" Micky suggested, a smile on his face. Selene liked the pool for the simple reason that it not only was refreshing but it gave Micky a little bit more physical freedom that any other activity they had tried.

The western setting sun in the Arizona sky put out a beautiful fiery display that reflected off the water in the pool. Micky was already swimming a bit as had become his habit since they moved into the new house. He was really taking advantage of the equipment and pool that came with this house. It was showing too. He had buffed up quite a bit in the last little while Selene had noticed. Especially his biceps since he had been using the wheelchair but more noticeably, his abs and legs were beginning to tone up with repeated use and exercise. It easily took fifteen years off his age in appearance.

Selene walked across the patio in her two piece bikini that she had, up to this point, reserved for the home pool only. It was one of those that tied together behind the neck, in the middle of the back and at each hip and was literally held around her body by nothing but a tiny spaghetti strap. Micky had seen it on her a few times but each time was like the first time for him. She took his breath away every time he saw her body like this; during the golden hour as it was called in Hollywood. Her skin had tanned a beautiful golden brown since they had been spending more and more time outdoors. He liked a woman with a suntan but not too much of one. After all, too much of a good thing isn't good at all. His ex wife had been high maintenance and had insisted on maintaining a spray tan instead of spending one moment in the sun. This was not only expensive but after a while caused her to develop an orange glow that was consistent with tan in a can products. They were all the same. Then there were the girls he used to know back in the 60s who spent several hours a day all oiled up in the blistering California sun just to get that nice dark tan. A lot of those ladies looked like the Crypt Keeper now because they had not aged gracefully and had done a lot of damage to their skin. Selene was that happy place in between. She would age gracefully and look great in the meantime without appearing orange.

She walked over to the edge of the pool, laid down the towels she had brought out. They were big fluffy ones so they could wrap up after they were finished in the pool. She sat down allowing her feet to dangle in the water as she watched Micky.

"Wanna come in and play with me?" Micky asked her as he approached her, with a sexy undertone. He was between her knees with his hands on her lower legs.

"I would love to come in and play with you" She said back to him, also with sexual innuendos.

Micky kissed her a few times on the knees and then she allowed herself to slip into the water with him, into his arms. Presently, he was using a pool noodle to stabilize himself in the water and remain upright when he wasn't near the edge of the pool. This had worked quite well for him. It was more independent than a wheelchair. That's for sure.

Selene smiled at him as their faces grew closer together. She placed a hand at the back of his neck and pulled him a little closer for a kiss under the sunset. This kiss turned passionate rather quickly with Selene running her other hand down Micky's torso feeling every hard muscle along the way until she reached the waistline of his swim trunks. She continued letting her hand grip his butt and squeeze. He had a nicely toned butt. She pulled him even closer so that his body was against her leg...She wrapped one leg around his. That's when she felt the bulge in his swim trunks. He was rock hard.

Micky was still enjoying the kissing and had begun to kiss Selene all over her upper body and neck. He could hardly contain what he was feeling emotionally and decided that he was going to take full advantage of the fact that they were in a pool about to undress one another. His desire was to do the things to her that he would have done to her before the accident left him unable to deliver. He had thought about these things a lot at night when everything was quiet, sometimes to the point of tears as he watched her sleep next to him. He wanted so badly to give her the kind of sex she could talk about with her girlfriends and the kind she would come back for. That's exactly what he set out to do when he took her face in his hands and kissed her hard, his tongue slipping into her mouth.

Selene didn't protest. She knew in the back of her mind what was going on and she loved it. It was a real turn on for her. At this point, Micky was using her to balance himself in the water and remain upright.

"I want to lay you down and do the horizontal mambo with you" He mumbled into her ear, in a breathy bedroom tone.

Just then Selene locked lips with him again as her hand found the strings on the front of his swim trunks. She pulled them and easily untied them allowing his trunks to fall lower. She began stroking him under the water. He was quite literally a handful.

Micky decided it was time now. Although he couldn't feel the massive erection, he knew that it was there and he could feel the exchange of emotion between them. It was unlike anything he had ever felt with anyone before. This woman was the one. She was his soulmate. The one that would make up for all of the years of emotional hell that came before the accident and the one who would be with him, loving him until the day he died.

He fiddled with her bikini until he untied it, still gently groping and kissing her. She let out a little moan of pleasure when one of his hands slid down her body, squeezed her breast and fell to her hip coming to a rest on her now nude butt. He pulled her closer with one hand and the next thing she knew, she was holding onto him around the neck and he was inside of her. He managed to use one arm to steady himself in the water and the other hand under her butt to begin an up and down movement. This simulated thrusting. Selene let him have his way with her. It was like slow motion ecstasy. Like nothing she had ever experienced. She could feel him inside her, every sensation, in slow, underwater motion. She kissed his neck and moaned with each thrust; he kept going until he knew she was reaching climax and finally he gave her that wonderful orgasm that he had sought after. He had sexually pleased her. It wasn't the other way around this time with Selene doing all of the work to please herself with his body.

Following the epic orgasm, Selene felt relaxed in Micky's arms. he was still inside of her, no longer thrusting. Just holding her. He felt none of the physical sensation below the waist but emotionally, he felt like he either wanted to cry and laugh at the same time or perhaps try it again repeatedly. Physical sex was highly overrated in his mind at this point. He could say with all honesty that he had never gratified a woman this way in the past and no other woman would experience this very special emotional sex other than Selene. The emotional connection was amazing between the two of them

"My God, Micky, that was fantastic!" She said after the fact, still feeling the after effects of the orgasm he had given her.

He was secretly pleased that he had been able to do this and was even gloating a bit about it to himself.

"It was nothing short of epic for me too, babe." He said as he pulled her into an underwater hug, their naked bodies touching one another.

Selene took a look around to see where her bikini had went. It was lying on the bottom of the pool and had moved a few feet away. Micky had already managed to put his trunks back on. They were just sitting at his feet and hadn't moved.

"I'll get your clothes" Micky said and before she knew what was happening, he went below the water and popped back up with both pieces. He helped her put them back on before they exited the water. By this time, it was completely dark and the crescent moon had begun its ascent on the horizon.

Micky approached the edge of the pool and with one swift motion, he thrust himself up out of the water to a sitting position on the tile and wrapped himself in a towel. Selene followed also wrapping herself in a towel and moving his wheelchair closer to him so that he could get in it. It was at that moment when hew as sitting on the side of the pool, dripping wet in only his swim trunks that she realized that he didn't have the appearance of a man disabled. From there, he looked like any other man sans the wheelchair nearby and he was a damn good looking older gentleman with his body which was becoming ripped by the day.

The two of them went to Micky's accessible shower, stripped down and proceeded to bathe each other. Selene soaped Micky's back as he sat on the shower chair and proceeded to wash him in all the places she knew he couldn't possibly reach. She let him do the same for her when she was finished. She liked being touched by Micky and she knew he would like to partake in the same.

That night, Micky and Selene decided to watch the television in the bedroom and snuggle. There was a lovely little balcony just off the master suite where Selene opened the sliding doors so that the exit onto the balcony was screened only. This allowed the night sounds to fill the room. Micky was already in bed.

"Come over here." He said, rolled to one side, patting the bed.

Selene went to the bed, crawled in and pulled up the covers. The pillows were piled several thick so that they were both comfortably propped up. Selene realized that Micky hadn't put one underneath his knees.

"You gotta elevate your legs, hon." she said to him as she took one of the pillows from her side of the bed, flipped back the covers and placed it where it should be, adjusting his legs accordingly for comfort.

Micky didn't protest. He was coming to enjoy it every time she done something for him, touched him or spoke to him. He was truly blessed and he knew it.

"Thank you" He said as he found the remote.

"Comfortable? She asked

"Yeah" He said, turning the television on.

The two of them found an old movie to watch. After a while, Micky looked down and noticed Selene had fallen asleep on him. As he looked at his sleeping beauty, he thought about the earlier events of the evening and how satisfied he felt after it all. He thought about their future and then about other ways he could work to please her. He couldn't shake the feelings from earlier. " _That was absolutely cathartic"_ he thought to himself as he dozed off to sleep.


	30. Chapter 30

It was an overcast day, Micky was spending the day at the studio with Burt and Bob and was planning to record a few new tracks that he had been working on for a new release that he was considering sometime in the future. All of the kinks hadn't been worked out yet. This would be a small scale release. Marketing hadn't been worked out yet, there were not enough songs on the album and he had been doing more writing than recording. He just needed to get back in the groove of things. He was also still fielding recording offers for Selene and the tracks she had recorded earlier in the year. A few had come in but nothing too serious that he wanted to pass to her or even tell her about.

Selene had decided to go out for the day to do some shopping for a few wedding items, take care of some bills and hook up with a long lost friend of hers who just happened to passing through town for the weekend.

Beth was a writer in New York City who worked with a major publishing company. Subsequently, her work sent her all over the country to cover a variety of interesting topics, do research, photography and general information gathering. She had originally been sent to New Mexico to do a piece of some Native American culture but had stopped in Phoenix after hearing that Selene and her new husband were living there.

Selene pulled the Beretta into a parking space in the public parking lot and walked a few blocks, window shopping along the way. She still had a few minutes before meeting her friend for lunch and a chat at the cafe on the corner but she decided to make her way there anyway and arrive early.

The cafe had a large wooden double door that resembled that of a castle. Inside, the aroma was that of freshly ground and brewed coffee, fresh baked goods and a variety of teas. The place was quiet, designed in rich warm colors that were calming in nature. Everything had a modern southwestern theme. Selene really liked that style. It was her favorite. As she looked around, there were a few people sitting sparsely around the room. Some were reading, others were watching the television on the other side of the room, a couple of teens were working on a project using the free WiFi the establishment provided and then there were a few customers in line for take out orders.

Selene spotted a nice booth back in the corner away from everyone and away from the door but still within view of the whole room. She sat down, put her things on the seat beside her and ordered a tall green tea chai latte to start off with.

Just then, she heard her smart phone beep. She took it out of her bag and noticed a text message that she had somehow missed earlier from Micky.

" _Hope you're having a great time today with your friend. I'd love to meet her sometime_ "

She smiled and returned a text message to him "Y _es love, I'm having a nice day. I'll see how long she's in town._ "

A few minutes later the phone jingled again with another message. " _I'll be home later this afternoon. Need to stop by the medical supply store and pick up new leg braces I ordered. Love You_ "

She laid the phone face down on the table. She had never been a massive user of cell phones and certainly found it annoying when people sat around using them non stop, especially if they happened to be in a social setting or across the table from her. She thought it rude and much preferred a face to face social experience. Micky seemed to be the same way.

The green tea spiced latte came out in a big mug and smelled wonderfully spicy. It was the perfect thing for an overcast day.

Ten minutes passed, Selene sat there watching the television in the other corner of the room. It was on some news program that she wasn't familiar with. Just then, she noticed that the door swung open and Beth came in.

Selene waived her over to the booth in the back. The two women exchanged a hug and sat down. Shortly a waiter approached the table again to get something for Beth. they both ordered lunch. Selene had a pastrami on rye sandwich and Beth ordered a bread bowl of soup and a large brownie.

"So, tell me about this Micky you've been hanging around with" Beth immediately began.

Selene sat across the table looking at her grinning sheepishly with that inquiry.

"He's wonderful..." Selene started.

"How did yo meet?" Beth wanted to know.

"He moved into the house beside of mine in California earlier in the year and we hit it off really well right from the start. I was having some car problems and he came over to help with that."

Beth sat there silent almost as if she were waiting for more of an answer or a story that that. Selene chalked it up to the reporter in her-she has to be a good listener and make close observations for her line of work.

"But you moved in with him and you've been living with him for several months now" Beth said after a short silence and after she was sure that Selene wasn't going to provide anymore of an explanation than that without being prodded.

"... and now you've bought a house with him and moved here to Phoenix" She added.

"Oh, Micky bought a beautiful house here in Phoenix" Selene excitedly told her friend.

"It's got a wonderful patio out from the kitchen and dining area with a pool and a breathtaking view of the desert." She added, looking off past Beth in some imaginary vision that she was describing to her friend.

She went on to describe the details of the house to include that it was equipped with an elevator.

"Your house has its own elevator?" Beth said, obviously finding this an oddity. "That's not something you see everyday" She added, leaving it open for Selene to tell her about it.

Selene took the bait without even giving it a second thought and began talking again about the house and its elevator. She didn't want to just tell everyone she talked with that Micky was disabled and was looking for a way to excuse the elevator from the conversation without it being obvious that she was trying to avoid talking about something.

"Micky's got some needs..." She finally told Beth as she skipped from discussing that to the mundane topic of a cook out they had on the patio a few weeks back.

This tactic was rough but Beth picked up on it quickly. She was, after all, in the business of finding information and putting it together in a compelling way.

"So, tell me about Micky." Beth curiously asked, playing the giddy high school friend asking about the latest crush of another friend.

"Micky is...absolutely a wonderful man." Selene started. "He's one of the most sincere people I've ever met, a true gentleman." She said.

Beth swirled her stirrer in her coffee and looked over the table at Selene. "He sounds like a great catch so far." She said then asked "What's he do for a living?"

Selene paused taking a bite of her food, intentionally chewing slower than usual, using the time to think about how she wanted to respond to that.

"Micky is a professional performer" she finally said, hoping not to get into the whole celebrity thing and to avoid all of the questions that would ensue about how rich he was as a celebrity and the real reasons she may be with him.

Beth's eyes got big all of a sudden. "Wow, I bet that's interesting!" She said, a hint of new excitement in her voice.

"Micky's a great guy, Beth. I'm glad I found him but I've got a secret." Selene told her. Beth was all ears. "Beth, we haven't talked for a few months but there's a lot of stuff you've missed out on and a lot of things we need to catch up on." She told her and then there was a short silence. Beth was on the edge of her seat listening intently to whatever Selene's secret was.

"Beth...Micky and I eloped a while back" She said, giddy and giggling when she said it. Beth nearly dropped her spoon in the soup she had been slurping when Selene dropped that bomb.

"Oh my God!" She said quietly and almost under her breath, shocked and then quickly regained her composure. "You married him?" She asked.

"Why are you so surprised?" Selene asked.

"Well, because, you just never were the type to shack up with a guy and then elope with him and not tell anyone about it for months at a time! It's out of character. You were always grounded, careful and guarded. You never trusted anyone completely." She said, feeding off of the gossip.

"I know, but you know what they say...when you find that one person who is your soul mate, you know it when you fall in love." She said.

"You said he had some needs earlier." Beth said, going down another rabbit trail. "He's an older guy, isn't he?" Beth said, automatically making that assumption based on the fact that she already knew that there was an elevator in the house for some reason other than they just bought the house that way. There were endless supplies of nice homes for sale in the Phoenix area that they could have picked from but she honed in on the fact that they chose this one.

"Well, you might say he's older." Selene told Beth reluctantly, feeling that she was about to get herself into one of those situations where she would have to explain the whole thing of dating, loving and marrying a man who was twice her age.

"Older and more experienced." Beth quipped. "I've always enjoyed a fling with a more experienced man" She added.

The two girls had known each other for years and had attended high school together. Back in those days that were not so far in their past, Beth had always been the wild one. She had always engaged in sexual relationships, tried smoking pot, drank a bit and the like whereas Selene was content to just be the grounding force in the friendship and reel her back in before she got too close to the heat and got burned. Somehow, she had never ended up pregnant or been sexually assaulted.

"So how much more experience does he have?" Beth inquired, being coy about it. "How much older is he" She finally added.

Selene knew what was coming next so she buckled down and prepared herself for it. "He's in his early 60s" she said flatly. "And he's been recently divorced a year or so ago." She added, hoping to satisfy Beth's curiosity enough to keep her from prying too much.

"...and he's excellent in bed" She also added to further satisfy the curiosity.

Beth sat across the table, now sipping her coffee and once in a while pinching a piece of bread off of the bread bowl her soup had been served in listening to this flow of information from Selene. She was taken aback just a bit that Selene had provided all of this information all at one time without her having to drag it out.

"So, he's twice your age but he's hot in bed?" She asked as more of a matter of fact statement. "...and you eloped with him?" She ended her statement.

"Yes, that's right. We have been happily married for a few months now but we've been keeping that under the radar. We plan to have a public wedding and make an announcement to our friends soon." She added.

"How romantic!" Beth exclaimed.

"I still think its so wonderful that you've moved to Phoenix. You know that's like a hub of the southwest. You could further your career and Micky could have a great shot at establishing a lasting career in the music industry." Beth explained.

Selene knew she shouldn't say anything but she wanted so badly to tell Beth that Micky was already a well established professional musician in the industry, he had reached teen idol status in the 60s before either of them were ever born or thought about and that he was currently working on a new studio album but she bit her tongue and didn't say anything about it. She didn't want it to sound as though she had married him for his status or money and she certainly didn't want anyone to get that idea.

"I'm going to go to the restroom" Selene said, sliding out of the booth. "I'll be back in just a bit." She told Beth.

Beth sat there alone in the booth, the waiter cleared the table all but the brownie and the drinks. As she sat there waiting for Selene to return, once again her curiosities got the best of her. Without a second thought, she reached across the table and picked up Selene's cell phone which was still laying face down at her spot. The screen lit up when she flipped it over showing the earlier text messages:

 **" _Hope you're having a great time today with your friend. I'd love to meet her sometime_ "**

 **"Y _es love, I'm having a nice day. I'll see how long she's in town._ "**

 **" _I'll be home later this afternoon. Need to stop by the medical supply store and pick up new leg braces I ordered. Love You_ "**

" _Leg braces"_ she thought to herself.

" _This Micky guy is physically disabled"_ she took a look at the number from which the messages were sent, pulled a pen from her bag and wrote the corresponding number down on the inside of her hand for the time being. She shut the phone off and placed it back in its spot on the table as though it were never touched.

" _This Micky is in his early 60s, he's disabled and apparently is some sort of musician"_ Beth thought to herself again, trying to piece together just why her friend Selene would be hanging around with someone like that. What was the attraction. On one hand, the conversation seemed genuine on Selene's end but the other end just reeked of a disabled old man shacking up with a much younger woman after a recent divorce trying to make himself feel young after he had already been speeding his younger life away.

Selene returned to the table. Beth had already broken a piece off of the brownie and ate it. She pushed the saucer toward Selene who partook in the same. The two ladies shared the brownie, finished their drinks and said their goodbyes for the day.

- **BETH** **-**

After Beth exited the cafe and was out of sight a few blocks over, she whipped out her cell phone and made a call to her publisher.

"I think I've found something interesting" She said to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Found out a few things I didn't know as well."

"Yes, he's still disabled and confined to his wheelchair but he's apparently been in the studio"

"She's not shacking up with him, Troy, she's married to him. They eloped!"

"I'll have a good story for you in a day or two"

Beth rounded the corner and clicked the fob to unlock the door of the rental car her company had provided her with for this trip. As she sunk into the plush leather seats, started the car and cranked up the A/C, she realized that she felt really horrible about what she had been doing. On the other hand, she had to get a good juicy story to the editor so that she could keep her job and hopefully get a push in the right direction for the assistant editor's position that was soon going to be filled at her company. She needed the extra money. She was all but living on the streets at this point. This rental car was the first time she had been in a nice car in several months. She had let her vehicle go back to the finance company some months back so that she could rid herself of the payments and afford the rent so that she wouldn't be put out on the street. Her job paid by the article and lately she hadn't had any good ones that were money makers. She was trying to find a position that paid regularly, not by the job and in doing so, she had stooped to some pretty ridiculous lows. Now she felt lower than ever seeking out her longtime friend Selene just because she sniffed out a tabloid article a while back and had recognized her friend in the photo with Micky Dolenz and now she had confirmed that her friend was in fact married to a semi retired celebrity. She still needed to obtain some more information before she could write the story and do some really thorough coverage.

She returned to the crummy little motel just on the edge of the city where she had spent the last of the money she had saved up to pay the rent on her apartment back home for the month on a gamble that she could get enough of a scoop on her friend and disabled celebrity husband to write a winning story then everything would be ok. She had to do all of this over a weekend. She was on the next flight back to New York in two days. This was the part that she hadn't told Selene about. She wished she could tell Selene. She wanted to tell her everything that was happening but she just didn't see a clear way out for herself if she done the right thing. That wouldn't help her keep her apartment and her life together until she could find something better. Finding something better had been a pipe dream up to this point and hadn't been anywhere a possibility. She had received so many rejection letters from jobs she had applied to in the past three months and a whole slew of non-responses from other potential employers who didn't seem interested that she had lost count and decided to pursue what came natural to her-digging up the scoop on a variety of stories. She wasn't in Phoenix on a lay over after a big article on Native Americans. She was there for the clear and specific purpose of being nosy, getting a friend to confide in her and then taking that information and using it to her own advantage. She decided that She and Selene had known each other for a long enough period of time that this sort of behavior was almost expected and therefore acceptable so she would proceed with her original plan of action.

She made a pot of coffee in the sleazy motel room to kill the dank smell in the room and poured herself a cup of it. She pulled a laptop out of a bag she had brought with her and set it up on a table that was in the room and prepared to do some research for her upcoming article. She scoured the internet for any information that would correspond with her story or that could be used in any way. She conducted multiple searches for information on Micky Dolenz including reverse searches on the phone number that she had now jotted down in a notebook beside his name.

She found a short article describing the armed attack that Micky and Selene experienced a while back on their visit to Phoenix before they purchased their house. She wrote down the author's name. She also went back further and found articles online about Micky's accident describing how he was thrown from his Mercedes when the car flipped and seriously injured. The article went on to make the claim that he had suffered a serious spinal injury as a result. There were also several pictures that had made their way to the internet that were originally published in tabloids previously. Most of these were found around obscure fan groups online where his older fans had passed them around. Some of these women in the online fan community had gotten pretty catty toward Selene and already felt that she was using and somehow abusing him in their newfound relationship. Although there was a lot of speculation that sourced from these photos that had appeared in the tabloids, fans were still mostly uncertain what was going on with their beloved Micky Dolenz. He had remained under the radar for quite some time now since his high profile divorce and accident. It appeared that his fans mostly had a disdain for Selene because of her age. Other than that, they really didn't have a good reason for trashing her in their fan forums the way that they had been.

Some additional research turned up the previous listing for the home that Micky had purchased. Beth looked carefully through the photos contained in the listing of the house, it showed the elevator, a variety of high quality exercise equipment as well as physical therapy equipment and emphasized that the home was completely wheelchair accessible and that all of the equipment conveyed with the home. Now she knew for a fact why the elevator was in the house. Micky was physically disabled from a spinal injury, he required the use of a wheelchair for mobility and he was likely paralyzed and would never walk again. Fans had apparently been kept in the dark about Micky's condition and therefore speculated about some miraculous recovery he was undergoing and seemed to expect that of him eventually. This article could be a tell all, well researched piece delivered to fans that they would really find interesting and since it would all be factual, it wouldn't be like a tabloid trash article. Beth had already decided that she would write the article to satisfy her needs but she would make sure it was a truthful one so as not to speculate or mislead her readers. Perhaps she could even get some information to include in there about the new recordings Micky had been reportedly working on.

Micky arrived home before Selene was finished with her shopping. He pulled the Mercedes into the garage, reached over to the passenger side and put a few things in his bag, zipped it and then lifted the wheelchair out of the passenger side of the car over to the area where he had the door open so that he could unfold it. This was a good thing about having a convertible-one could lift things up and over. Micky would have actually been restricted with most other cars in that respect.

Micky heard the phone ringing inside the house so he quickly transferred to the chair and made his way into the foyer and then on into the kitchen.

"Hello"

The voice on the other end sounded a bit surprised that he answered.

"Hi, my name's Beth, I had lunch with Selene earlier and I was wondering if she was around."

"Oh, hello Beth, I'm sorry, she's not back yet. She should be back later. Want me to give her a message?" Micky asked as he placed his bag on the kitchen island and then went to the refrigerator.

"We had talked about getting together again before I have to go back and she had mentioned maybe just hanging out at the house for a while." Beth told him, fully taking advantage of having Micky, not Selene on the phone and knowing that this hadn't really ever been discussed to a point that they had decided on meeting at their house. She just hoped on a wing and a prayer that Micky would invite her over and set it up right then and there and she would be in. Full access to the inside information she needed in order to write her article that would pull her career out of the shitter.

Swallowing the bait hook, line and sinker, Micky responded favorably to her. "Yeah, That would be great. I was telling Selene earlier that it would be nice to meet you and hang out before you went back. Wanna come by sometime tomorrow?" He asked.

"Oh that sounds wonderful!" she responded, a little more secure in what she was doing now that it had worked out as she wanted.

Micky gave her some brief directions to get to their house consisting of the address and a few landmarks that she could locate easily along the way and that he would let Selene know. The call ended.

Micky had downed a bottle of water during the phone call, tossed the bottle across the kitchen squarely hitting the trashcan like a pro and then proceeded to his study with his bag. When he emptied it, he had a few CDs, a notebook and some sheet music that he had brought home. He kicked on his laptop that was sitting at the desk and began to play back some of the CDs he had. These were tracks that he had recorded earlier in the day and planned on making some changes to at a later time. He sat there listening closely to the tracks, making some notations on a piece of paper beside the mouse pad.

"Micky, are you home?" Selene said as she opened the door and came into the foyer with several bags.

"In the study" He replied as he left what he was doing and came out into the foyer.

"Here, let me take some of these bags and help you" He said as he took a few, stacking them on his lap.

"How was your day?" He wanted to know.

Selene, talking as she moved through the house detailed her day to Micky, her lunch with Beth at the cafe and her shopping. She had stopped by a few specialty stores and purchased a few additional accessories for their upcoming wedding and a few decorations that she liked, one of which was a cake topper.

When she finally put everything away, she returned to Micky who was now in the kitchen, and sat on his lap, her arms around his shoulders in a loose embrace.

"So, tell me about your day" She asked him, smiling and kissed him on the cheek near the corner of his mouth.

He smiled, his eyes softened and she felt him relax a bit before he recalled his day to her. He had spent most of it in the recording studio, hadn't had much of a lunch, only snacks and had managed to lay down and record several new tracks that he was in the process of listening to.

"Oh, and your friend Beth called and she will be coming by tomorrow to hang out and see the place. I went ahead and told her to come on over." He told her.

Selene was a little surprised but nodded and let it go. She was more interested in getting Micky some food to eat before he starved himself to death. She had already heard his stomach growl several times while she was sitting on his lap in the kitchen.

"How about some quesadillas tonight for dinner?" Selene asked him knowing that was something she prepared well and that he would probably enjoy having because she hadn't made it in a while.

"That sounds really good, mind if I help out?" He asked, a grin on his face.

"Sure, you can help me" She said. She knew that he enjoyed cooking and preparing food and he was quite good at it but had denied himself that pleasure a lot lately since the accident until they moved into this accessible house that had lowered counter tops.

Micky excitedly took a variety of peppers, an onion, cilantro and a tomato out of the fridge and prepared them first dicing them and then using the food processor to further dice them. Selene was in charge of meat preparation and had some boneless chicken breasts that she was frying. Once these were cooked, they assembled the food together, finished cooking it and had a quiet dinner out on the patio as they listened to some of Micky's new tracks on his laptop that were recorded earlier in the day. As it turned out, he had recorded some backing tracks for a song he was working on long distance with Mike Nesmith called "Me and Magdalena" that Selene particularly enjoyed. The harmony and sound was amazing. The other one she liked was called "You Bring The Summer" which he said she inspired. This made her blush. She had never had a song written about her.

"Micky, these are great tracks and I think you've got a couple of hits here" She told him as the next track on the CD played. It was a slower song that kind of had a sad sound to it. It started out " _Don't forget this broken heart in those island nights apart; I was really not that bad and you were all I had_ " and then Micky cut it off.

"Why'd you cut it off?"

He sat there looking down at the table "Because, it's something I wrote a long time ago and Burt finally talked me into recording it. It's about my relationship with my ex wife" He told her. "I didn't think you'd want to hear about that" He finally said.

His voice sounded so gentle on this track and yet so distant. It was another Micky in another universe and she knew that it was an emotional track for him.

She laid a hand on his and let him know that it was ok for him to express his feelings through his music and even talk to her about it if it helped him.

"I appreciate that...you just don't know." He said, obviously having an emotional moment. He skipped that track and went to the next one. He had already recorded this one in the 80s with the Monkees but he had decided to re-record it as a solo song. "This is sort of an old one" He said as he started the CD on track #5. "It's called Don't Bring Me Down" The guys and I recorded it for our 20th anniversary album, Pool It. Made a video and everything. It was part of a big Meet The Monkees contest on Nickelodeon and the lucky person who won the contest got to be in our video." He recalled.

"That sounds like loads of fun. Was it fun for you?" She asked now that the mood had lifted.

"Yeah, those were some good times. Fun times. We really had a lot of fun making that video and I bet that little girl who won the contest is grown with a family of her own now." He said.

The track continued then went on in to the next one and the one after that.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31  
The Man Next Door

The afternoon turned into evening as Micky and Selene prepared for their guest to arrive. Beth would be at their house any minute now. The snacks were out on the patio, The table was prepared, drinks were chilling in the patio mini fridge and the entree of boneless chicken was marinating in the refrigerator for a little later.

"Tell me again how you know Beth" Micky said as he went into the living room to channel surf the TV and kill time.

Selene followed behind him and explained.

"I've known Beth since high school. She was always chasing the boys, going out, trying everything..." Selene trailed off.

"So, she was a wild child?" Micky asked with a giggle.

"You might say that" Selene continued as she sat down on the ottoman beside of Micky and watched his channel surfing for the next few minutes. There was nothing interesting on television. He flipped through a myriad of news channels, several sports channels and even a few home shopping channels where he stopped to laugh at a particularly interesting girdle waist training device for women that was touted as "the only thing you'll need to train your waist back into shape no matter your body style" and that was accompanied by some pretty ghastly before and after photos of people who purportedly used this contraption with enormous success. For $19.95 + $10 shipping and handling, they'd even send you two of these things!

Just then the door bell rang.

"Must be Beth, I'll go get that" Selene said as she bounced up off her seat and headed through the kitchen into the foyer to answer the door.

Micky proceeded into the bedroom to make sure he was presentable. He always liked to take a quick look in the mirror before going out or meeting new people to make sure that his appearance was good and at times splash on a little extra cologne. Maybe this was to make up for some of the confidence he had lost in himself since the accident. He really didn't give it too much thought. It had become a routine thing as of late.

Selene and Beth were chatting in the living room like old friends. Micky made his way into the kitchen to retrieve some food that he had prepared earlier for cooking and then made his way out to the patio and back yard area out back of the house where stood a barbecue grill, a bar and some other nearby amenities for outdoor cooking.

Micky was secretly thinking about Beth in the sense that she was a reporter. He found himself a bit nervous about that fact but quickly brushed it off considering that he had handled literally thousands of reporters over the course of his lifetime. Besides that, she wasn't there as a reporter-she was there as Selene's friend and he should treat her as such. He sat his meat platter on the bar near the grill, turned on the gas and pressed the striker button to ignite the grill and let it warm up. In the meantime, he wheeled around behind the bar to a mini fridge that sat just under the counter top and held several sauces and other ingredients he used when he cooked at the grill.

"You home is beautiful!" Beth exclaimed as she looked around the room, doing a full body turn that was along the lines of a child in a toy store at Christmas. Her mouth gaped just a bit as her eyes came back to Selene across from her after looking around the large palatial space where they were sitting.

"Thank you" Selene said sheepishly. From what she knew of Beth's career, she had lived a decent lifestyle over the years but at the same time, she still felt out of place in the house. It was so much more than what she had become accustomed to. "I still haven't gotten used to how big this place is and all of the places there are to put things. I don't have that many things." She said, smiling.

"I'm sure you will fill it up soon!" Beth laughed.

"Most of the stuff here belongs to Micky." Selene told Beth. "...I didn't bring a lot of stuff with me when we moved in other than just the items I wanted to keep. Mom's things, a few of my things and the like." She explained, a sad look coming across her face when she spoke of her mother.

Beth placed a hand on Selene's hand. "You miss your mom, I know. She's in a much better place now looking down on you smiling" She said. It was a cheesy sympathy comment but it was the only thing that she could think of that would be appropriate. Beth and Selene's mom didn't really know each other.

"Did your mom ever meet Micky?" Beth asked quickly before the topic of Selene's mother passed to something else. It was a great opportunity to interject Micky into the conversation and get some information. She already knew that Micky had not ever met Selene's mother but she wanted to steer the conversation in the general direction of Micky. She hadn't seen him or heard from him the whole time she had been at their house. Granted, it hadn't been long, maybe a half hour at best, but she had him pegged as being more outgoing and personable. Maybe that accident and his new condition had really taken a toll on his personality. Maybe it had changed him. Maybe this would be a bigger story than she first thought. Either way, she needed to get to work and begin digging up the information so that she could deliver an exclusive in the days to come for the payout.

Selene's expression remained sad with this topic. "No, mom never got to meet Micky. He moved in the house next door to me after she passed away." She said. "And it was probably one of the best things that happened to me." She added with a slight smile.

"I don't remember anyone ever showing me such a great time as Micky has" She continued. Her mood lifting a bit after the short conversation about her mother.

This was exactly what Beth had wanted. She knew how to work people and get the behavior and responses she desired from them. She had mastered the art of getting people to play right into her game of starting the information flow. She knew that once she got her subject to talk about something of interest that they enjoyed, they'd keep talking about it. This situation was really easy because the topic of interest was Micky Dolenz and his wife happened to very much enjoy talking about him. There was also the fact that Selene hadn't had a girls day out with anyone in quite a while and she seemed to be in need of a good girls chat. Beth was in need of a good scoop.

"Micky is a wonderful man." Selene continued, at this point absolutely glowing with happiness and exuding it with every word spoken about Micky-she didn't even realize how her mood changed when she started talking about the man she so dearly loved. "We've had some great trips over the last little while" She added, omitting the negative. It didn't matter. The positive was much more memorable. The hot beach trip came to mind, their secret wedding, the way he looked at her and cared for her. It was more than she had ever expected out of a relationship. The Beavertown trip, his wonderful friends.

"I haven't met him yet." Beth finally said.

Selene hadn't realized that Micky hadn't been seen for more than a half hour and he had not come out to greet their guest. Sometimes he was elusive like that. Or maybe she just lost track of time talking to an old friend. Either way, she wanted Beth to meet Micky. She couldn't wait to show him off.

"Wait here, I'll go see if I can find him" Selene told Beth, rising up off the couch and exiting the living room.

Once Selene was gone, Beth looked around the room quickly. She had noticed a few things lying around as she had talked with Selene that were of interest. A photo album that was lying on the coffee table nearby that was full of photos, some papers near a hibernated laptop over across the room on the desk and just off in another room, what appeared to be some medical equipment but she hadn't really been able to get a good look at that up to this point. She came equipped with her cell phone which featured a voice recorder that she had been using covertly and a decent camera. She was grateful for modern technology. Had this been ten years earlier, she would not have been able to get so much use out of one cell phone. She would have needed a camera and a voice recorder. It would have been too obvious to lug those items around and make it work with the present situation without being found out.

Once Beth knew that Selene was out of sight and out of earshot, she quickly and quietly moved over toward the desk to take a look at the papers around the hibernated laptop. She wouldn't touch the laptop since it might be noticed if the screen were suddenly turned on when Selene returned. She lifted a couple of the papers and noted that they were printouts of a variety of medical information pertaining to a specific spinal injury. She quickly snapped photos of those papers with her cell phone and stacked them back up. She didn't have time to read more than just a few sentences on the first page. She would read the rest of it later when she returned to her hotel room.

Next, she peeked around into the next room and saw a walker, leg braces and a rather dapper looking cane. She snapped a photo quickly then moved back to the couch where she picked up the photo album and began flipping through it. This would provide her with information and potentially additional photos she could use in her story. It wouldn't look too suspicious that she was flipping through it if Selene came back. It was already out on the coffee table and obviously, you wouldn't leave something out like that if you didn't want people to look at it. That's what she silently told herself anyway.

In the first few pages of the photo album, there were a few old photos of Micky that appeared decades old. She snapped a photo of one of the pages that contained several old square photos. She flipped a few more and found some pages filled with photos of Selene's mother and father, old photos of Selene and a couple of old school photos. Those were of no interest to her concerning her mission. She flipped on toward the middle of the album and that's where the photos began to get more recent. There were a few candid photos taken of Micky at his previous residence that appeared to have been taken by Selene as she was not in any of the photos. Several showed Micky confined to a wheelchair. There was one of him she took while he had been working on her Beretta in the driveway. Beth took a picture of that page. Another photo showed Micky lying on a beach towel with part of the wheelchair in the background. Yet another photo showed Micky and Selene at what appeared to be their secret wedding. Micky was standing beside her but the wheelchair was nowhere to be seen in the photo. She snapped that also with her cell phone. She continued flipping through the album to see if there were any other photos of interest she could use in her story. They were all pretty much the same. Photos Selene had taken of Micky and very few of the two of them together. In the back of the album, there was an envelope containing some more photos that for some reason weren't actually interred into the photo album even though there were some remaining spaces for them.

Beth looked inside and found a number of other photos. This was the payday she had been looking for. In this envelope, there were photos of Micky in the hospital, a photo of his wrecked Mercedes and quite a few photos of him sitting around his previous home in his wheelchair looking very depressed and disheveled. There was one selfie Selene had taken of her and Micky in an undetermined location where she appeared to be sitting on his lap. Also among these photos, there were several taken in another location appearing to be somewhere in the country. One of a picnic, a selfie of the two of them in a carriage and then a group photo of David, Micky, Peter and Mike that Selene must have taken since she was not in the photo. Micky had been sitting in his wheelchair in the photo with his friends around him in what appeared to be a happy occasion. Beth was pushing the clock and decided to put those photos back into the envelope they came out of and just go back to looking at the photo album like a normal person rather than sifting through it and taking photos of photos with her phone.

The photos that were in the later part of the album were more recent ones and even a few were taken in the current home.

Micky was in his own little world preparing a meal out on the patio with the grill. The marinated chicken breast looked and smelled absolutely delicious as he closely monitored its cooking, careful not to burn it and poking it once in a while to see if the juices ran clear.

"Micky dear, when you finish with that and get a moment, please come inside and meet Beth." Selene said to him as she gracefully came through the sliding patio door onto the warm tiles. He looked up and as usual was caught up in her mystifying beauty. The sun played through her hair and on her skin giving it a glowing golden luster.

"I'll be right in. I'm almost finished" He said, smiling at her. "Why don't you go in and let Beth know that the food will be ready very soon. Maybe come on out and we can chat while I finish up." He added.

Selene approached him at the grill to see how the food looked and then leaned down from behind him for a quick peck on the cheek. He felt the blood rush up in his face when she touched him. She always had this effect on him. She made him feel like a much younger man again, as though he was getting back a part of his youth that he had long since spent.

"I love you" She said in his ear. He caught her hand on his shoulder and pulled it to his mouth for a quick kiss on the fingers.

"Love you too, babe." He said back to her as she headed back into the house where Beth waited.

"Beth" Selene called just as she came into the living room. "Micky's almost finished with the food outside, we should go out to the patio and enjoy some snacks with him until the main course is ready." She said.

Beth got up off the couch and followed Selene through the large home out through the back door onto their beautiful patio where she now had a grand view of the desert and scenery. It was literally breathtaking.

"We can sit over here" Selene said as she pulled out a plate of crackers, veggies, cheeses and dip.

Micky was still at the grill which sat out of the way in a covered cabana style bar area off to one side near the pool. She almost missed him since he was in his wheelchair and not standing up. She could only see the top of his head over the grill lid and bar.

"So this was the wonderful Micky Dolenz" She thought to herself.

Just then, Micky closed the grill and came around to where the ladies were sitting at the table. He had a tray on his lap with some bottled drinks, ice and cups that he had taken from their outside supply of things at the bar.

"Hello, you must be Beth." Micky said, smiling cordially taking the young woman's hand. "I've heard a lot about you from Selene. I understand you've been a friend of hers going way back." He added.

Beth couldn't help herself. She blushed a little bit when Micky took her hand. She hadn't really been treated well by men. She had never had a boyfriend who cared about her and had been in one bad relationship after the other so this was a pleasant surprise-seeing Selene with what appeared to be a gentleman.

"We go back a long way" She told him indicating herself and Selene. "Best friends for years." She indicated before starting a full blown conversation with him. He seemed easy to talk to.

"Selene and I were just catching up a little bit earlier. Tell me about yourself." She prodded with a smile. "As Selene tells me, you're a pretty amazing catch."

Before Micky had a chance to answer or respond to that, Beth began a new line of discussion.

"How have you been since the accident?" She asked.

The question may have been a bit too forward. Micky didn't immediately respond, Selene was munching a cracker with some cheese listening to her husband and friend chat and then that came up...There was a very brief awkward silence but then Micky responded. "It's been...difficult and long. Things have changed a lot for me but as you know, I met Selene and she's really helped me quite a bit over the past several months. She's a special lady." He said as he reached over and took her hand in both of his lovingly. She smiled.

Beth needed more information for her story but at the same time she couldn't be too forward with her questions or Micky would catch on to what she was doing and know that something was up. Especially Micky since he had experience dealing with reporters as a regular part of his career. She couldn't tip anyone off. She had too much riding on this.

"I have to tell you, I'm really excited to be here and meet you." She told Micky. "Your career has been amazing and you really are a musical icon." She told him.

"Selene and I are happy to have you and I appreciate your compliment." He said. She picked up on something in the way he said that. It was a bit of a downer.

"You will have to tell Beth a little bit about your Monkees days sometime." Selene said. "He's got some great stories" She told Beth.

"I need to go check on the food, I'll be back in a few" Micky said as he excused himself from the party and headed back to the grill to check on his chicken.

Selene and Beth continued to talk at the table over snacks and bottled drinks that Micky brought. Beth leaned in toward Selene and told her

"He's quite a nice man from what I've seen in the last ten minutes" and then added in a much quieter tone "Is he good?"

The implications of Beth's question didn't register with Selene right off the bat.

"He's great." Selene said without thinking a thing of it.

Beth raised an inquisitive eyebrow to the response.

"But how?" She started

Just then it clicked with Selene that Beth had been asking about their sex life, not his personality.

"We have a wonderful love life." She told Beth in all seriousness. "Absolutely beautiful in every way." She said smiling.

"The physical aspect is a bit...different than the usual but we make it work." She told Beth.

Beth wasn't about to ask for any further detail. She did not understand the mechanics of disabled sex, she couldn't imagine what that would be like, what sort of equipment would be in use in order to make it work and how it could possibly be gratifying for either one of the people involved. That wasn't really the meat of her story in the first place. She was more interested in putting a spin on it that would appeal to fans and his fan base consisted of people of all ages ranging from teenagers who were new to the fandom to those who were his same age and everywhere in between.

"That's great, Selene. I'm so glad you've found someone special. It's not really about age, appearance, physical aspects or anything else as long as you love the person for who they are and they return the same to you." She said eloquently as she took a sip of her drink and munched a piece of broccoli from the snack tray.

Selene and Beth continued chatting for a good bit while Micky was working on the food at the grill. He was putting on some finishing touches before serving the food. Beth was nonchalantly keeping an eye on him just to see how dependent he may be on Selene being there in the role of a caregiver. She was thinking about putting a "sexy young caregiver" spin on the whole thing. She knew from her years of experience as a writer that sex was one of the topics that sells.

Micky basted some thick glaze over the chicken after he plated it. He shut off the gas to the grill so that the fire went out then brought the plate of hot chicken to the table. Selene immediately stopped what she was doing, took the tray of hot food from Micky and placed it on the table. She then took away the dishes they were eating snacks from and put them over at the bar out of the way replacing them with plates and silverware. When she returned to the table, she unfolded one of the napkins she had brought with the plates, placed it on Micky's lap and then pushed his chair up closer to the table without being asked or prompted to do so. He looked up at her and smiled. She patted him on the shoulder before she sat down.

They exchanged loving smiles across the table as Micky prepared to serve the food to Beth and Selene. The chicken tasted sweet and tangy. It was delicious.

"I must have your recipe" Beth exclaimed after taking a few bites of the chicken. "This is better than anything I've ever had before!" She told Micky.

"It's a family recipe that I'm fond of." He told her explaining that his mother used to make the sauce and preserve it when he was a child. He then went into a story about his mother making the stuff and sending it to him at various points during his career even when he lived in the UK and that it always comforted him whenever he tasted it. Upon her death, he found her recipe for it in some of her things and took that to keep for himself so that he could continue to make the sauce every now and then. It was a rather simple recipe.

"I've never been much of a cook though" Micky added as he forked a piece of the chicken breast and stuck in his mouth.

Selene and Beth both giggled when he said that because the chicken was very tasty and they knew that he knew it but was just being very modest.

Micky told a few stories about his friends David, Peter and Mike as they dined on the patio. Beth listened intently to these stories. He didn't seem to want to talk about anything in his recent past just prior to the accident or leading up to it. She had a feeling that there was something there he was avoiding and she needed to figure out what it was. It could be an important piece of information for her story. Something that could take the whole thing to the next level.

She would have to see if she could get him to change gears and discuss something else in a roundabout way. Once there was a pause in the conversation she done just that.

"So Micky, tell me what you were doing when you met Selene." She said innocently enough. "How did you meet?" She added.

She managed to get a slight smile out of Micky. Despite everything that had happened to him leading up to him running into Selene, he really did like recounting their story. It made him happy and he enjoyed talking about her. In some ways, it was an alleviation of his emotional pain. Almost a necessary coping tool for his recovery process.

"I purchased a home in California and was in the process of moving in after my divorce when I ran into her the first time. It was in her driveway with her old car." He quipped. "It wouldn't start and she didn't know what to do for it." He continued. "I thought she was a pretty little lady so I went over and tried to help hoping I could get a date with her or maybe an invite over to her house for dinner later on or at least be friends." He said.

Beth was quiet. This was where she wanted the conversation to be. She let him continue talking.

"We were hungry and she needed to go do some things in the same area of town so she hitched a ride with me" He said.

"We got to spend some time together and found out that we really had a lot in common and hit it off really well."

Beth continued to listen intently.

"So when did the two of you become an item?" She prodded in the manner of a curious friend.

Micky sat there at the table thinking about it. It was then that he realized that he had no idea when that officially happened. He was experiencing a mental block. She had tripped him up and asked him a question for which he really did not have a good answer.

"Well..."He started as he was putting the pieces together mentally and recounting the events "I don't remember a lot about the recovery from the accident...I know Selene was there even though we had just met. She was the only person in the neighborhood I knew at the time." He said. "She turned out to be a great caregiver when I needed her." He paused and looked in her general direction.

"I've always needed her" He added.

Beth was listening intently to this story as he talked.

"So, when I was finally able to come home from the hospital, she was just there. She made sure I had good food to eat, she took care of everything and checked in on me several times a day. I guess that first time I invited her over for dinner after the accident was when we really decided we wanted to make something of a relationship out of it" He said having taken Selene's hand in his at some point in the conversation.

Selene interrupted to tell some of her own pieces of the story.

"From the first time I met him out in the driveway he was a really sweet man. I was actually really attracted to him from the beginning." She said, her hand now resting on Micky's thigh with his hand on top of hers, their fingers interlocked.

"He invited me to his house for dinner after returning home from the hospital. I accepted and when I got there, I found two dozen roses in my chair at his table that he had put there as a surprise. I suppose that's when he put the moves on me and claimed me." She said with a huge smile.

"You were the one who put the moves on me, my dear." Micky said in a sly tone in response.

"Those roses done the trick for this old fart." He told Beth. "When she saw those roses, she came right over and planted one right on the kisser for what seemed like an eternity. It was heaven." He said as he let his eyes close so he could visualize the whole scene over in his mind's eye. His smile was angelic at that point.

"That sounds like quite a whirlwind relationship you've had there." Beth remarked. "On a more personal note, congratulations on your recent marriage." She told them both. They both continued to talk about future plans for an actual wedding that friends and family could attend.

Beth eventually excused herself from the table to go to the restroom and freshen up a bit. Selene directed her to the master bath where there was a large mirror while she finished cleaning up with Micky out on the patio.

Beth made her way back inside the house following Selene's directions and walked quickly down a hallway into what appeared to be a master bedroom with an attached master bath. A very fancy and accessible master bath. She closed the door behind her even though she was well out of sight of Micky and Selene. She could actually see them out on the patio through one of the bedroom windows on an opposite side of the room and keep tabs on where they were. Since she couldn't justifiably stay in the house under present circumstances for too long of a time, she would have to work fast and make her way around the room to see what she could find.

The first thing she noticed was that there were numerous rails and handles in the bathroom for accessibility. Not too interesting. After that, she noticed a bath chair in the shower stall. She opened a cabinet under the sink to see what was there. She didn't see too many odd things. Just the usual. Extra toilet paper, feminine products, some spare shampoo, soaps and that sort of thing.

Next on her list was the medicine cabinet above the sink. She knew that you could glean a lot of information by what was contained in someone's medicine cabinet. Again, she didn't find too many items in there. Just some over the counter medications, band aids and a thermometer. This left a small closet in the bathroom. There was nothing there except linens and a plunger.

Disappointed in the contents of the bathroom with regard to her story, Beth checked the view out on the patio. Micky was actively engaged in a kiss with Selene. She was sitting on his lap and they had temporarily abandoned the dirty dishes on the table. He looked like he was feeling her up real good too so that might buy her some time. She snapped a photo from her excellent vantage point and quickly made her way to a nearby night stand where she quietly opened a drawer.

"Bingo" She quietly said aloud as she opened the drawer a bit more to let some light in. Micky's gun was in a holster inside the drawer. She picked it up and slid it out so that she could see its serial number. She photographed that and replaced it just as it was. There was something in the back of the drawer that she couldn't see. It had been shoved all the way to the back. She reached in and pulled out a small package in a discreet box. It had a label on it that resembled a prescription label that read G. Dolenz. Upon further examination, she found the box to contain catheters and related paraphernalia.

She photographed this as well and replaced it just as she had found it.

"Now we know for a fact that he is incontinent and does in fact suffer from a full spinal injury." She thought to herself as she made a mental note to research a bit on this topic.

There was a night stand on the other side of the bed that she still wanted to check. When she got to that side and opened the drawer, she expected to find some of Selene's things. Instead, she found some papers, all belonging to Micky. These were copies of medical reports describing his injury and prognosis. They looked as though he had used them quite a bit for something. They were rumpled and had been handled a lot. She noticed a small star in the margin of one note in particular on a page that looked as though it had been handled quite angrily.

"The future prognosis of the injury sustained is not clear however, it is with reasonable medical knowledge concerning spinal injuries that this patient will suffer complications from paralysis for the rest of his life. Furthermore, he will require a caregiver to assist with some if not most daily tasks of self care. At present, he states that he has hired a live-in caregiver who is experienced with patient care of those with spinal injuries."

Beth snapped another photo of this page. This stated Micky had a caregiver, not a wife or a girlfriend.

Another page behind that one went on to describe the specific nature of Micky's injury.

"Patient experiences paralysis below the waist due to a lower lumbar injury sustained in an automobile accident. Patient has no sensation below the waist as a result and may experience any of the following: decrease in or loss of sexual function, libido, or fertility, difficulty with bladder and bowel function requiring a regular routine; Secondary infections in the lower half of the body, particularly bed sores and skin problems; chronic pain; Patient may be a good candidate for use of braces for assisted walking depending on therapy progress."

"Beth took another photo of those papers, put them back in the drawer and headed back out to the patio where Micky and Selene had cleaned up the dishes and were just settling back down again for some more socializing.

The three of them enjoyed a bit more socializing before they said their goodbyes and parted ways.


	32. Chapter 32

The Man Next Door

Chapter 32

BETH

As the last of the sun sank below the horizon, Beth made a left turn into the parking lot at the motel where she was spending her trip. It was in the seedy section of town and not too attractive. It was old, run down and dated. It was all she could afford. She had of course spent what was left of her available funds on this trip in a last ditch effort to reclaim her career, get a promotion and pull herself out of the dump.

Knowing she would be as good as homeless and unemployed when she returned home if this story didn't sell, she collected her items from the car, cell phone, notebook, purse and retrieved a laptop from the trunk before approaching the motel.

A yellow sodium lamp cast a dim glow at the top of each door in the row. Beth had a room right on the front of the building so she didn't have far to walk, in fact, just a few steps from the car to the door. All the better since it was in an uncertain neighborhood. It was quiet there for the moment. A gentle breeze stirring.

The room was small. Beth unloaded her items at the table near the window. The curtain was shut and would remain shut. She knew what she had to do. Once unloaded, she put on some coffee and headed for the shower to clean up and get comfortable so that she could pull an all nighter on this story.

The smell of cheap and slightly burned motel coffee filled the room as Beth sat at the table with her laptop and cell phone. She transferred the photos she had taken earlier at Micky's house to the computer for viewing on a larger screen. She performed this task in the background while she opened up a Word document and began to format it for her article. This was going to have to be a lengthy article, well written and documented. It had to sell at the same time. This would be a feature article if she could pull it off. Instant career boost.

It was getting on to be around 10 PM and Beth had only managed to compose a little over 3000 words in her article. She just didn't like the way it was turning out as she sat there sipping her coffee.

She decided to delete everything she had done up to that point and begin again on a new article. This one just wasn't working well. She needed a new angle on the whole thing. Something more interesting that would appeal to a large audience. She began again, this time going back nearly 50 years to September 1966 when The Monkees television show first hit the air waves. This was a good starting point because it would bring out the nostalgia of the group, appeal to older fans and at the same time bring them up to date on recent happenings. She detailed the group's progress through the 60s and their breakup by 1970, wrote a few paragraphs about each individually and then returned to information about the two tours that had taken place in the 80s and 90s, the 20th and 30th anniversary tour and finally to her current topic-Micky's current status. She would frame him in her article to be the leading voice of the popular group who had several recent misfortunes including drug abuse, a failed marriage and a life altering accident. Her article would go on to provide information from an unnamed inside source as most tabloid articles do.

She shuffled through some of the photos and some notes she had made from them as she proof read what she had so far. Some of the photos wouldn't actually be used in the article, in fact most of them wouldn't be used. She just took those photos for reference purposes and for her own use and referral. Things like that come in handy. She had found in her career that after you have time to ponder things and think about them, much better ideas flow-different ideas come out and often they are better than the original idea. That was this case this time.

As Beth sat there looking at the photo from the album on her screen, she questioned whether or not she should even be writing this story or not. After all, Selene was her friend and she had been a friend for a long time. She had never seen a time when she needed Selene and she wasn't available. Selene was a good friend but times were troubled. The trade off of friendship and setting a good career path for a better future didn't exactly balance. She had to do something about her present dire situation. This was the quick fix. She continued.

Micky's hand gun had caught her interest earlier. He didn't seem like the type who would even own a gun much less keep a loaded gun in the house ready to use. This struck her as very odd. She knew Selene didn't really care for guns as well and wondered if she knew that he kept this gun. After a few paid searches on the internet, she returned that the gun had been purchased legally and had never been used to commit a crime. Further searching turned up the criminal charges filed against Selene's old boyfriend, Trevor. The details on these charges indicated that a firearm was involved. Micky's name was also present on these documents as one of the Plaintiffs in the case along with Selene. Records showed that Trevor was in custody. Interesting information.

Beth continued to search and add to her article as necessary. It was going on 1 AM, she had been hard at work on this thing now for several hours and put in a lot of research and revision on this piece. She had located some file photos of Micky, The Monkees, and a few others to pepper around her article for good visuals, she decided to include the photo of their beach wedding that she took with her cell phone from the photo album. Some minor cropping and photo shopping made it look as though she actually took the photo and it wasn't a picture of a picture.

The article would include information about Micky's accident, an interesting spin on his marriage to Selene and his current life as it was...or better yet, as presented by Beth.

Beth clicked CTRL S to save the document again. She had saved it many times. If there was one thing the technology age had taught her, it was to save and save frequently. She was no stranger to lost work due to computer crashes. It had happened several times since she hadn't had the money to purchase new equipment and was using a very old laptop that was seriously outdated. It was literally only good for surfing the internet and word processing.

It was now 2:30 AM, she had finished her article and would sleep on it then re-read it in the morning before she electronically submitted it to her boss. She knew in her heart that it was wrong and that her means of obtaining the story were unethical but she saw no other way out. She shut off the lap top, unplugged it and went to bed. She set an alarm on her cell phone for 7:30 before placing it on the night stand and going to sleep.

THE NEXT MORNING

Beth awoke as planned when the alarm went off. She had rested well in her seedy little motel room. The night had been rather quiet, she hadn't been awakened during the night or anything else odd. She laid in bed staring up at the ceiling again thinking about the article she had completed only hours earlier. It was saved on her laptop and in need of proof reading. The room still had the faint smell of burnt coffee from the night before. She hadn't emptied the pot from when she had previously made coffee. The coffee was nasty anyway. She didn't want to do that again.

Beth got dressed, fixed herself up and prepared to proof read her extravagant story that would hopefully change her career course. It took her nearly two more hours to finish proofing it and revising it but she finally was able to click the "send" button which would deliver copies of the article to her boss as well as his secretary back in New York. She felt nervous and wanted an immediate response. She needed to do something to busy herself for the time being. She could go window shopping in a nearby neighborhood that was quite a bit nicer than her current location. She had a few hours before she caught the plane back to New York anyway and wanted to be far far away from that seedy motel. It reminded her of the Bates Motel in some ways.

Once she checked out at the office, she got into the car with all of her belongings and drove down the road. A few turns later, she found herself sitting in a McDonalds drive thru. She really needed something to eat so she ordered breakfast and a cup of hot coffee to go. She landed at a neighborhood shopping plaza. It looked upscale, there was a nice sitting area with stores and boutique shops all around. She found a table out of the way to sit and enjoy her breakfast in the ambient surroundings. It was already starting to warm up.

For the next few hours, she browsed the shops. She didn't buy anything though. An alert from her purse coming from her phone brought her back into reality. She nervously pulled the phone from her bag to see what the message was. It was an email. Her heart began to pound. It was from her boss. She began to breathe rapidly as anxiety sat in anticipating what the message would say. It seemed to take forever to load up on the cellular phone. Service in the area didn't seem particularly hampered but this was taking seemingly forever.

 _BETH,_

 _THIS ARTICLE WAS JUST WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR. IT'S GOING TO PRINT NEXT ISSUE. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU TO DISCUSS YOUR PROMOTION WHEN YOU RETURN._

A huge smile spread across her face. She had succeeded in her mission to forward her career. This was the move she needed to make. All of the negative feelings left her. She would enjoy a nice lunch at her present location rather than fast food since she knew she would have a better paying job when she returned to New York and since she would likely get a substantial bonus check from the publishing of this article.

A few mere hours later, she was on the plane flying out back to New York.


	33. Chapter 33

The Man Next Door

Chapter 33

BETH

As the last of the sun sank below the horizon, Beth made a left turn into the parking lot at the motel where she was spending her trip. It was in the seedy section of town and not too attractive. It was old, run down and dated. It was all she could afford. She had of course spent what was left of her available funds on this trip in a last ditch effort to reclaim her career, get a promotion and pull herself out of the dump.

Knowing she would be as good as homeless and unemployed when she returned home if this story didn't sell, she collected her items from the car, cell phone, notebook, purse and retrieved a laptop from the trunk before approaching the motel.

A yellow sodium lamp cast a dim glow at the top of each door in the row. Beth had a room right on the front of the building so she didn't have far to walk, in fact, just a few steps from the car to the door. All the better since it was in an uncertain neighborhood. It was quiet there for the moment. A gentle breeze stirring.

The room was small. Beth unloaded her items at the table near the window. The curtain was shut and would remain shut. She knew what she had to do. Once unloaded, she put on some coffee and headed for the shower to clean up and get comfortable so that she could pull an all nighter on this story.

The smell of cheap and slightly burned motel coffee filled the room as Beth sat at the table with her laptop and cell phone. She transferred the photos she had taken earlier at Micky's house to the computer for viewing on a larger screen. She performed this task in the background while she opened up a Word document and began to format it for her article. This was going to have to be a lengthy article, well written and documented. It had to sell at the same time. This would be a feature article if she could pull it off. Instant career boost.

It was getting on to be around 10 PM and Beth had only managed to compose a little over 3000 words in her article. She just didn't like the way it was turning out as she sat there sipping her coffee.

She decided to delete everything she had done up to that point and begin again on a new article. This one just wasn't working well. She needed a new angle on the whole thing. Something more interesting that would appeal to a large audience. She began again, this time going back nearly 50 years to September 1966 when The Monkees television show first hit the air waves. This was a good starting point because it would bring out the nostalgia of the group, appeal to older fans and at the same time bring them up to date on recent happenings. She detailed the group's progress through the 60s and their breakup by 1970, wrote a few paragraphs about each individually and then returned to information about the two tours that had taken place in the 80s and 90s, the 20th and 30th anniversary tour and finally to her current topic-Micky's current status. She would frame him in her article to be the leading voice of the popular group who had several recent misfortunes including drug abuse, a failed marriage and a life altering accident. Her article would go on to provide information from an unnamed inside source as most tabloid articles do.

She shuffled through some of the photos and some notes she had made from them as she proof read what she had so far. Some of the photos wouldn't actually be used in the article, in fact most of them wouldn't be used. She just took those photos for reference purposes and for her own use and referral. Things like that come in handy. She had found in her career that after you have time to ponder things and think about them, much better ideas flow-different ideas come out and often they are better than the original idea. That was this case this time.

As Beth sat there looking at the photo from the album on her screen, she questioned whether or not she should even be writing this story or not. After all, Selene was her friend and she had been a friend for a long time. She had never seen a time when she needed Selene and she wasn't available. Selene was a good friend but times were troubled. The trade off of friendship and setting a good career path for a better future didn't exactly balance. She had to do something about her present dire situation. This was the quick fix. She continued.

Micky's hand gun had caught her interest earlier. He didn't seem like the type who would even own a gun much less keep a loaded gun in the house ready to use. This struck her as very odd. She knew Selene didn't really care for guns as well and wondered if she knew that he kept this gun. After a few paid searches on the internet, she returned that the gun had been purchased legally and had never been used to commit a crime. Further searching turned up the criminal charges filed against Selene's old boyfriend, Trevor. The details on these charges indicated that a firearm was involved. Micky's name was also present on these documents as one of the Plaintiffs in the case along with Selene. Records showed that Trevor was in custody. Interesting information.

Beth continued to search and add to her article as necessary. It was going on 1 AM, she had been hard at work on this thing now for several hours and put in a lot of research and revision on this piece. She had located some file photos of Micky, The Monkees, and a few others to pepper around her article for good visuals, she decided to include the photo of their beach wedding that she took with her cell phone from the photo album. Some minor cropping and photo shopping made it look as though she actually took the photo and it wasn't a picture of a picture.

The article would include information about Micky's accident, an interesting spin on his marriage to Selene and his current life as it was...or better yet, as presented by Beth.

Beth clicked CTRL S to save the document again. She had saved it many times. If there was one thing the technology age had taught her, it was to save and save frequently. She was no stranger to lost work due to computer crashes. It had happened several times since she hadn't had the money to purchase new equipment and was using a very old laptop that was seriously outdated. It was literally only good for surfing the internet and word processing.

It was now 2:30 AM, she had finished her article and would sleep on it then re-read it in the morning before she electronically submitted it to her boss. She knew in her heart that it was wrong and that her means of obtaining the story were unethical but she saw no other way out. She shut off the lap top, unplugged it and went to bed. She set an alarm on her cell phone for 7:30 before placing it on the night stand and going to sleep.

THE NEXT MORNING

Beth awoke as planned when the alarm went off. She had rested well in her seedy little motel room. The night had been rather quiet, she hadn't been awakened during the night or anything else odd. She laid in bed staring up at the ceiling again thinking about the article she had completed only hours earlier. It was saved on her laptop and in need of proof reading. The room still had the faint smell of burnt coffee from the night before. She hadn't emptied the pot from when she had previously made coffee. The coffee was nasty anyway. She didn't want to do that again.

Beth got dressed, fixed herself up and prepared to proof read her extravagant story that would hopefully change her career course. It took her nearly two more hours to finish proofing it and revising it but she finally was able to click the "send" button which would deliver copies of the article to her boss as well as his secretary back in New York. She felt nervous and wanted an immediate response. She needed to do something to busy herself for the time being. She could go window shopping in a nearby neighborhood that was quite a bit nicer than her current location. She had a few hours before she caught the plane back to New York anyway and wanted to be far far away from that seedy motel. It reminded her of the Bates Motel in some ways.

Once she checked out at the office, she got into the car with all of her belongings and drove down the road. A few turns later, she found herself sitting in a McDonalds drive thru. She really needed something to eat so she ordered breakfast and a cup of hot coffee to go. She landed at a neighborhood shopping plaza. It looked upscale, there was a nice sitting area with stores and boutique shops all around. She found a table out of the way to sit and enjoy her breakfast in the ambient surroundings. It was already starting to warm up.

For the next few hours, she browsed the shops. She didn't buy anything though. An alert from her purse coming from her phone brought her back into reality. She nervously pulled the phone from her bag to see what the message was. It was an email. Her heart began to pound. It was from her boss. She began to breathe rapidly as anxiety sat in anticipating what the message would say. It seemed to take forever to load up on the cellular phone. Service in the area didn't seem particularly hampered but this was taking seemingly forever.

 _BETH,_

 _THIS ARTICLE WAS JUST WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR. IT'S GOING TO PRINT NEXT ISSUE. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU TO DISCUSS YOUR PROMOTION WHEN YOU RETURN._

A huge smile spread across her face. She had succeeded in her mission to forward her career. This was the move she needed to make. All of the negative feelings left her. She would enjoy a nice lunch at her present location rather than fast food since she knew she would have a better paying job when she returned to New York and since she would likely get a substantial bonus check from the publishing of this article.

A few mere hours later, she was on the plane flying out back to New York.


	34. Chapter 34

The Man Next Door

Chapter 34

-TWO WEEKS LATER-

Micky didn't often go shopping with Selene at the local grocery store but in today's case, he had the day free from anything pending and decided that he would tag along. Selene always enjoyed his company. Most of the time he remained in the car and listened to the radio on such trips. It was easier for him to go along and sit in the car listening to the radio than it was to have Selene haul his chair out of the trunk, help him into it, get around the store with him and a grocery cart then put him, the groceries and the chair back into the car. He still sometimes felt like a burden to her at times like this. She had always succeeded in not making him feel like an extra burden though and for that, he was grateful.

The sun was hot in the summer sky and heat rising off the pavement at the red light out in front of the car and Selene's hair was blowing in the breeze as the car came to a stop, her aviator sunglasses reflecting light off their lenses. The top was down. Micky enjoyed riding with the top down. Said it made him feel like a younger man at times. It was a beautiful day for a drive with the top down. Back in California everyone drove with the top down.

The light changed, Selene drove into the parking lot of a locally owned grocery store. She preferred local places to chain stores because they were smaller and often weren't as crowded. This allowed her to get what she needed quickly and return to the car.

She rolled the car into a parking place that was halfway down the lot. She had parked away from the store because she wanted Micky to go in with her and he refused to get a handicap parking tag. She could respect that. He was still able to do things and in her mind, wasn't truly disabled. Besides somebody else might need that parking space at the front of the store more than he did.

Micky leaned back in the seat and looked up at the sky until he realized Selene was at his side of the car with his chair already out. This meant that he would be going into the store with her. The feelings of gratefulness came again as she held his chair and he transferred from the car into it. She fluidly maneuvered everything so that he never had a problem. She made his life so much easier and worth living. He honestly wasn't sure if he would have made it after his accident without her loving care.

Micky had no sooner transferred into the chair than Selene was making sure his feet were on the foot rests in what looked like a natural position. She took extra pains when they went out in public to arrange him neatly and make sure that his clothing wasn't twisted or unnatural in any way. She was irritated when she saw other disabled people or elderly people who hadn't been taken proper care of or who had been let appear in public disheveled for lack of anyone caring how they looked. Most people liked to maintain a decent appearance. Furthermore, Micky ran the risk every time he went out in public of being approached by fans or being photographed so she felt that he should look his best and that how he looked partially reflected upon her.

Selene pushed Micky toward the storefront and into the sliding front doors. It was like a burst of cold air coming out of the grocery store-which wasn't unpleasant in the dry heat- and around by the produce. Selene hadn't picked up a shopping cart so she snatched up one of the baskets as she walked by to put her things in.

"I can hold that for you" Micky offered, looking up at her over his left shoulder. She obliged him and let him set it on his lap. It would be a task to try and push him through the store and hold the basket as well.

"Thanks, Micky" She said as she reached for several different kinds of produce and placed that in the basket. A half hour later, they had made their way around the store and managed to pick up the other items they needed and were headed to checkout. That's when Selene spotted it. Her breath caught in her throat, the blood drained from her face and her arms and hands felt completely numb.

Just at that moment, she realized that she had stopped moving dead in her tracks which had gotten Micky's attention.

"Selene...Selene! Are you ok?" Micky asked, rather concerned and too preoccupied with her to have seen what she saw.

She swallowed hard and managed to move her hand to Micky's shoulder.

"I am so sorry" She managed to say, not above a whisper before that caught in her throat.

Micky's gaze followed hers over to the stand at the end of the checkout lane mere feet from where she had stopped and there sat a magazine with their photo on most of the entire cover with a huge headline that read

 **MICKY DOLENZ FORMER MONKEE NOW MARRIED TO CAREGIVER**

The sub line read

 **HIS NEW LIFE AS A PARAPLEGIC, HER NEW LIFE AS A TROPHY WIFE**

Neither of them knew what to think. Selene felt like crying and screaming at the same time. There wasn't much Micky could do from his position. It angered him and for the first time in a really long time, he realized again that he wasn't physically able to get out of that chair to comfort his wife or to do anything about the offending tabloid. He truly felt small, old, useless and disabled at that point and then he felt something wet and warm fall on his neck and run down to his collar. It was Selene's tears that she had failed to hold back. Next thing he knew, he was moving in an opposite undefined direction toward the rear of the store at a rather rapid pace he was not accustomed to. The two of them found some privacy near the dairy department in an area just outside the stockroom near the restrooms. Besides being utterly shattered, Selene was now angry, livid-She didn't know what else to do. She knelt beside Micky and hugged him tightly as she cried. He held her while she cried.

"It's going to be ok, love" He whispered in her ear as he pulled her hair away from her face. "This isn't the first time I've been on a tabloid cover and it wont be the last" He said with some reassurance even though he was equally as upset, just not showing it. He rubbed her back reassuringly and stroked her hair as she rested across his lap.

Micky managed to coax her back into being ok and eventually was able to get back to the front of the store and go through checkout without issue. Oddly enough, none of the store's workers seemed to have noticed that these two were on the cover of a magazine. If they did, nothing was said out of respect.

Micky held 3 paper bags on his lap as Selene pushed him back to the car. He made quite a handy shopping cart when he did come alone. He handed her the bags as she loaded them into the trunk. She went to the passenger side, opened the door and helped Micky transfer back into the car. She folded up the chair and returned to the trunk to load it up. When she shut the trunk, Micky was looking back at her, his face tear-stained.

"I love you, Selene and I'm so sorry you had to see that and I hope you don't feel..." He was stopped. Selene was back at his side in an instant wiping his tears and at the same time lifting his right leg which was still outside the car, back into the car so that she could get closer to him. The car was low and they had put the top up before going into the store.

"Please don't be upset with me, it's my fault" She said, beginning to cry again. "I'm sorry I let her into our house..." Selene said

"No baby, its ok...we don't even know what it says and it doesn't matter. It's just a tabloid. The only people who read those are the ones dumb enough to believe the wild stories they spin. They are for entertainment only." Micky tried to explain.

"I used to be really bothered every time I saw a new fake story on the cover of a magazine but then I realized that there was just some groveling writer somewhere at the bottom of the proverbial writers dump looking for a sensational story to modify and spin for a fast buck. That's it." He continued.

Selene returned to her side of the car but left the top up. She felt like the whole world would be looking at them at this point after seeing that tabloid on the newsstand.

Selene drove through the various stop lights and intersections until she reached the street leading to their home and pulled the car into the driveway and then into the garage. There was direct access to the house through the garage.

"I'm always amazed at how quickly you do that" Micky said when Selene arrived at his side of the car with his chair ready to go.

"Practice makes perfect" She told him.

He took one of the paper bags on his lap which was all he could manage and still maneuver his chair himself. Selene took the other two and they went into the house to put away their groceries.

An hour later, Selene had finished doing laundry. Micky found her cleaning in the kitchen as he came around the corner.

"Wanna go out tonight? My treat?" He asked her as he ran his hand up the small of her back on approaching her.

She turned around and blushed a little at his unexpected contact.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds like a positively wonderful way to finish the day." She said smiling and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. When she came away she brushed her hand against his neck. These little gestures were a huge turn on for him

"Meet me in the foyer at 7" He said as he winked and exited the kitchen.

-A FEW HOURS LATER-

Micky was in the master bedroom putting on the finishing touches for his evening out, cuff links, a bow tie and cologne. He was fresh shaven, his hair slicked back in a neat ponytail gathered at the back of his head just at the base of his hat, not a hair out of place. Micky had hired a driver for the evening. Selene had no idea that he had done this. He didn't want her to have to be bothered with assisting him in and out of the car, driving to and from their date or anything else. He just wanted to take her out on a proper date like a man should.

Selene walked down the hall and into the foyer just a few minutes before 7. She was quite a stunning sight to see in her black and white dress. It had a V neck lined with a white accent and fell just atop her breasts so as to show some but not too much cleavage. She wore a diamond solitaire on a silver snake chain around her neck that caught the light ever so brilliantly. The dress fell mid thigh. She wore it in a classy way though. Her shiny black and white flats completed the outfit.

Just then, Micky came around the foyer from the other direction so that they were looking at each other. He was so handsome in his dress suit and hat. He looked sharp. Micky knew his driver should be arriving in the driveway soon. He approached her and extended his arm so that she could take it and he could escort her outside. Instead of exiting the house through the garage, they exited through the foyer so that they would be overlooking the driveway and sure enough, the limo was parked and waiting.

"I'm taking you on a date my love." Micky told her as the couple made their way to the car. Selene was surprised. The driver helped Selene into the car first then returned to help Micky and put his chair in the trunk. When the doors were shut and the car began moving, Micky scooted over a little closer to Selene in the back of the limo so that he could access the mini bar and put his arm around her.

The mini bar was stocked with alcoholic beverages as well as some of the items he had requested which included Coca Cola on ice. He poured two glasses of the soda for them and proceeded to hand her a glass. She looked gorgeous under the soft blue courtesy lights that illuminated the mini bar. He leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips and then took a drink of the Coke. Her hand found his face and pulled him in for another kiss. Before they knew it, they had made out in the back of the limo like a couple of teenagers.

Micky looked at Selene and laughed "Honey, you might wanna fix your lipstick a little bit there." He said. She had a clutch that she had brought with her containing some on-the-go makeup but before she could get it out, she realized that he too had her lipstick on his face. She fixed her face, he fixed his and by that time they had arrived at The Villa.

The Villa was a five star fancy restaurant offering higher end food and serving the rich and famous in the area-which mostly consisted of politicians and business people. It was exclusive for the area and the equal to some of the more well known places around Hollywood and Beverly Hills that stars have been known to frequent. This spot not only offered great Italian cuisine and a wine menu but also offered a private and discreet dining experience with top level service.

The car rolled to a stop and the door opened first on Selene's side of the car then after helping her out, the driver approached Micky's side with the chair, made sure he was in, situated and ready to go. Selene did make a few adjustments to his clothing though. She could be particular but Micky admittedly loved the extra attention from her. He tipped the driver and then offered Selene his arm again as they went inside the place.

"This place is gorgeous!" Selene exclaimed as she looked at her surroundings near the entrance. It was well decorated, there were fountains decorating the place as well as lots of greenery. For the most part, it was well lit but at various spots, it was evident that the lighting was ambient. Some tables featured candle lighting while others were larger and had better lighting for the business crowd.

A host checked their reservations and escorted them to a table out of view of the main entrance and off to its self that had been prepared to accommodate Micky and his date for the evening. There was one chair for Selene and a place set without a chair for Micky. He was able to just roll up to the table without having to move a chair out of the way. There was a centerpiece with candles in the middle of the table. Selene sat directly across from him at the small round table.

"You look wonderful tonight" Micky said "Especially in this lighting. It's so warm"

She smiled and felt herself blush a little bit at his comment. A waiter came around with menus, specials and such and offered a variety of drinks. Selene had already indulged in a Coke on the way there so she opted to have their lime seltzer water while Micky opted for plain water. They placed their orders and then once the waiter was out of sight proceeded to enjoy their date once more.

"I've been wanting to do this for you for a while, Selene" Micky said, gazing at her across the table. He laid his hands out open palm in a gesture for her to take them with her hands. She did. "We have been through so much lately, and you've been rock solid through it all. I'm so grateful to have you as my wife. You have no idea how much this means to me." Micky said.

"This is just beautiful" she told him. "I don't really think I've ever been in a place like this-at least not on a date." She said. "I worked in a place like this once" she added.

They laughed.

Micky fiddled with the ring on her finger as he held her hands and she met his gaze. There would be sex after this adventure.

A waiter came around with the appetizer. It was bruschetta and looked delicious. Micky moved his chair around to Selene's side of the table beside of her and offered her a piece of the appetizer. One arm around her, the other hand feeding her. She was enjoying this. The food was exceptional.

"You should try this" She said in between bites. "It's wonderful and its just the appetizer!" She said picking up a piece off the plate and offering it to Micky who happily partook in it. Before returning to his side of the table, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. She smelled really nice, like fresh lilac. He loved her scent.

The main course came out after that and was thoroughly enjoyed but the real treat was the cheesecake that came after that.

The two of them enjoyed an enormous slice of cheesecake that was absolute heaven. Selene decided to go to the ladies room and check up on her makeup. While she was away, Micky paid the bill and waited for her to return.

The bathroom attendant spoke to Selene as she came in and approached the mirrors at the sinks. Selene noticed something lying on the sink. It was a copy of that tabloid from earlier that the attendant had been reading.

Neither said a word. Selene touched up her makeup and then was offered a towel by the attendant.

Before leaving the restroom, Selene eyeballed the magazine. "May I have a look at that?" She nervously asked the attendant. At that moment the attendant realized that Selene was the woman mentioned on the cover article and was embarrassed to be reading it. "In fact, could I just have it? I'll pay you for it." She offered.

"Um, sure, I guess so." The attendant said acting as though she hadn't been reading it and that it had just been left there. Selene folded it, stuck it in her purse, thanked the attendant, tipped her and exited the ladies room.

Micky was waiting at the table for her return. Once she returned, he escorted her back outside where their limo was once again waiting for them.

Again, once inside the limo, since they were on the way home and didn't have to look neat when they arrived, Selene started coming onto Micky by kissing him and then unbuttoning the top two buttons of his dress shirt. She loved the way that looked. It stoked her.

Her fingertips slid up the back of his neck while one of his hands was on the small of her back pulling her toward him and the other sliding up her thigh under her skirt. She could feel the calluses on his fingers that came from guitar playing. His hands felt strong. She twisted his ponytail between her fingers as she kissed him and unbuttoned his pants with her other hand slipping her hand inside. He was hard and moaned in a low tone with pleasure when she touched him, and let his head fall back against the seat. Selene gripped him in her hands and began thrusting until he had a boner the size of the Empire State Building in his pants, at the same time she kissed him deeply and passionately allowing her tongue to dance around in his mouth and his in hers.

Selene's skirt was pushed up way too far exposing her hip. She had in fact worn a tiny little black thong so Micky had no trouble accessing her lady bits around it. Having already slid his hand up her thigh onto her butt and squeezed it gingerly, he wasted no time using his fingers to pleasure her while he was at it. She began to moan with pleasure. Every part of her was alive with pleasure. This had to be something that only a true lover could accomplish. Every part of her electrified with every stroke to her clitoris. Selene spread her legs even more and leaned into Micky's magic fingers for more pleasure. She likewise continued to pleasure him.

"Oh God, she's gonna blow" Micky said through gasping for air and moaning out of pleasure. "You gotta stop or we're gonna have to clean up a mess back here" He said, still breathing heavily.

Selene had already reached orgasm but hers wasn't nearly as messy as his would have been.

The limo with its thankfully tinted windows cruised through the city as the two lovers finished their escapade in the back seat and returned themselves to as normal as they could after having done what they did.

Once the couple was composed enough to deal with other people, Micky lowered the screen between them and the driver.

"Could you take us to River's End Summit for a bit?" He asked the driver.

"Sure thing!" The driver responded as the limo took another turn and changed directions.

The screen went back up.

"River's End Summit?" Selene asked.

"Yeah, I planned for a little extra!" Micky said flashing a smile her way.

Soon the limo pulled into a private area at River's End Summit. The place was completely deserted. This was a beautiful place just outside the city that was normally a quiet tourist attraction and public park area. It could also be an incredible place to watch the stars or moon since there were no city lights in the area. The driver helped Micky back into his chair and Selene out of the car.

"Come back to pick us up here in an hour" Micky directed the driver and handed him another hundred dollar bill.

The limo pulled away leaving the two of them at this beautiful vista where the stars and heavens met the horizon. There was a nice paved walkway through the park as well as numerous little paved trails to more private picnic areas, restrooms and sitting areas. The main path was lit with a dim street lamp every so often.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Micky said. Selene hadn't readily noticed that he had a small bag on his lap that had been given to him from the driver.

Micky and Selene made their way down the paved walkway for a bit until Micky indicated that they would go down the paved sidewalk that ended up on the knoll. They were surrounded by a few trees, some shrubs and tall grass around a clearing.

Micky unzipped the bag he had brought with him, inside there were two blankets, one for the ground and another one to cover up with in the night air. It was beginning to get a bit chilly. He spread one of the blankets on the ground and left the other one folded laying it on the corner of the one on the ground.

Micky held out a hand to Selene that she took. He pulled her around to the blanket and motioned for her to sit. As she sat on the blanket and took off her shoes, Micky carefully lowered himself out of his chair onto the blanket next to her and took off his own shoes setting them aside with hers and unfolding the second blanket.

Before they knew it, they were both under the blanket in each other's arms and had picked up right where they left off in the back seat of the limo except this time, it was Micky rolling Selene over on her back, him over top of her pushing her dress up with one hand, holding his upper body up with the other and Selene undoing his pants for the second time that evening.

Micky moved himself into position and went inside Selene, she quietly moaned with pleasure and breathed heavily in between his kisses. He was thrusting and she was reaching climax along with him. He could feel it building, that same emotional climax that felt special to him and only him. This wasn't something that could be accomplished by anyone else or brought on by anyone but Selene. He kept moving in a rhythmic motion while at the same time squeezing her breasts through her dress. Both her hands were now on his butt pushing him into her harder and faster. He finally reached the pleasure point and exploded into her but kept going to finish her.

Once this sexcapade was over, the two of them were completely worn out and energized at the same time. They both lay there underneath the blanket on their backs looking up at the stars.

"Make a wish!" Selene said when a shooting star shot across the sky for a split second.

A little while later, Selene had put herself back together and was in the process of helping Micky get back into his wheelchair. After that, she knelt down in front of him and put his shoes on his feet then made sure that they were properly arranged on the footrests.

Micky's hand caught her face while she was still in front of him and pulled her chin up so that she was looking right at him.

"Tonight's my night to take you on a date, not your night to take care of me. Please don't worry about this. Just enjoy the evening." He told her smiling.

"Oh I have, you have no idea. This was absolutely wonderful!" she said.

He took her by the hand and pulled her up into a standing position indicating he would like for her to sit on his lap.

As he held her with both hands he told her "Darling, you look wonderful tonight." and kissed her on the lips gently but passionately.

The two of them picked up and folded the blankets, packed them away and made their way back to the pickup point where the limo was waiting just as promised.

Once inside, the driver delivered them back to their home and gave Micky his card just in case he wanted to call on his services again in the future.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

It was already warm out on the patio by the pool as Selene sat at the table closely examining the tabloid she had obtained from the bathroom attendant the night before. She knew she shouldn't be looking at that stuff but she also knew that she was partly responsible for it having invited Beth into their home recently and handing her a golden opportunity to write such an article. It disgusted her to the point that she felt physically ill over it. How could she allow this to happen and put her husband in such a vulnerable position? She felt as though she had failed her husband.

She flipped through the lengthy multi-page article that was splattered with a variety of photos that were very personal in nature.

"8 pages..." She said aloud as she counted while she flipped through the whole thing.

She begun reading the article, painful as it was. It was filled with lots of unnecessary drama about the lives of disabled people and seemed to be largely padded with research on Micky's specific injuries sustained in his accident. There were photos to demonstrate this however, the photos had been taken out of context a great deal. Several photos showed Selene and Micky in what appeared to be compromising positions at various times while they were out. These must have been captured by a photographer that Beth had employed to follow them around and snap photos. She kept reading and found information about Micky's prior marriage, his drug problem, abuse, neglect, affairs and more. The usual celebrity drama and spin was all there just like he had said. She knew that most of what she was reading was sensationalized to make it sound more dramatic to the reader. After all, this was a celebrity that hadn't been in mainstream media for years until this devastating accident that ended up bringing them together.

THE NEXT PAGE

On the next page things really got interesting. The heading at the top of a paragraph read "Doctors have no hope that Dolenz will ever walk again" and went on to detail his medical condition with more research to pad the article. It made him sound as though he was a completely disabled man who needed 24/7 around the clock nursing care! Furthermore, there was a stock photo of a Mercedes like the one he crashed and then an actual crash photo of his car. It was horrific.

"This is unbelievable!" Selene said once again aloud as she picked up a cup of hot tea taking a sip to calm her nerves.

The article continued in the sense that the writer had actually spoken with Micky or Selene, and the truth was, she had! The day at the cafe when Beth was asking all of those questions about their relationship it had been purpose driven. She had been asking because she wanted to use the information in her article. Apparently Beth's painted picture of a severely disabled old man who needed constant care changed quite drastically when Selene was brought up in the article as a "decades younger caregiver who had been perky enough to breathe new life into the aging and now disabled musician" as it read. It went on to talk about the intense sexual sessions and was padded with additional information-Beth had apparently done a lot of research and embellishing of this-information on people who have fetishes with certain disabilities and then place themselves into positions where they may encounter individuals with specific disabilities. In this case, a celebrity who was significantly older than she was and who depended on her totally for his care right down to using the restroom and other personal needs.

Selene was mortified. The article went on to detail their secret wedding on the beach and their recent move to a new location as well as Micky's use of medical equipment and other things that she knew Beth had seen in their house.

Selene sat there with her mouth gaping open as she finished skimming the article and all of its outlandish and embellished information trying to figure out just how Beth took a few conversations and came up with something that was 8 pages in length and contained 11 photographs to include personal ones taken from their own albums that she knew were theirs she had not given her permission to use.

Just then it came to her - "I didn't give her or anyone else permission to use those much less look at them or obtain them...she stole them..." Selene thought to herself. This was terrible. Selene wondered for a split second whether or not there would be a follow up article. She knew that often, if an article done well, there were follow ups on things like this to feed reader interest and sell the magazine. This would be no different and it would be hard to tell what would be on the cover next time. She had hoped that nothing would come out, that this story would flop and fall flat on its face and quite honestly that she would never hear from Beth again. She was livid with Beth right at that moment. How could someone who she had known for such a long time do something like this to her. She knew how she could do this to other people but to a longtime close friend, someone she had confided in for years about her own career and relationship mishaps and bungles? This was the ultimate sin. She knew the truth though. The article was written with a target audience in mind-and for that audience, it was well written and would be well read.

Selene had already spent well over an hour pouring over the magazine and what it had to offer. She took a moment and looked at some of the other stories as well. She really had learned to view these things in a different light in a hurry. Before she found herself in a relationship with Micky, she used to pick up one of these things while waiting in line at the supermarket and casually browse through it to see what was going on. It was amusing then. This wasn't amusing now because she now realized more than ever that celebrities were real people who had real lives and real feelings and that these tabloid publications although not reliable and completely for entertainment only, were hurtful and misleading about the lives of many. Not only this but they created an invasion of privacy she was pretty sure didn't happen with reputable publications. Apparently it was 100% acceptable with the editor and publishing company for a writer to obtain photos and information by any means necessary even if it involved stealing it right out of their home, stalking them illegally to gather it and fishing under false pretenses for it in seemingly innocent conversations. She felt so violated and exploited.

Even though Micky had brushed it off the other day when they both saw it, she still felt as though she should tell him about it. She would have to wait until he came home from the studio. He had left earlier in the morning for an early recording session. Micky wouldn't be home until around lunchtime. Selene didn't feel like hanging around doing nothing so she decided it was a nice day to hang out by the pool and perhaps take a swim. She made laps around the pool and lost count of how many thinking about how she would tell Micky about this issue. She had to work this one out carefully.

The door leading out to the patio terrace slid open. Micky had arrived home. He had apparently been home long enough to change clothes and put his things away. He rolled out across the tile. He has also apparently noticed that Selene was in the pool since he had changed into his swim trunks before coming out.

"How's the water, babe?" He asked her as he lowered himself from his chair to the patio and allowed his bare feet to dangle in the pool while sitting on the edge.

"Water's fine." She said as she swam closer to where he was and positioned herself right in front of him between his feet holding one of his legs.

"Want to come in or sit up there on the side of the pool?" She said

"Oh, I'm coming in!" He said with certainty and a wink and a sly look meant especially for her.

He lowered himself into the crystal blue water beside Selene and caught her in his arm on the way in. He kissed her on the cheek holding her with one hand and holding onto the edge of the pool with the other hand so that he wouldn't sink. His arms had built up some noticeable strength and muscle.

"I'll get you the pool noodle" She said as she swam to the other side of the pool where they kept the noodles he used for his therapy routine. She picked out a bright blue one for him and returned with it.

Having a noodle helped him stabilize in the water when he didn't want to swim. Otherwise he could swim perfectly with his arms without issue. Relaxation needed a noodle or another flotation device.

Micky detailed to Selene his morning and gave her a rundown of the recording session. He was pleased to tell her that he would soon be releasing an EP with some new material on it.

"A couple of the new songs were inspired by you." He told her.

She blushed a little bit with that. She hadn't heard any of the new songs since he had been doing all of his work at the studio. Now wasn't the right time to tell him about the tabloid and that Beth had stolen the photos from their home that were printed in it. She didn't want to ruin the day so she went along with his chipper mood the rest of the time they were in the pool, over lunch and on into the evening until he noticed that something seemed to be bothering her and asked about it.

Micky sat relaxed and reclined on a sofa in their living room channel surfing while Selene sat across from him in a recliner chair seemingly involved with television even though there was nothing on and the channel was changing every 3 seconds due to constant commercials and advertisements for products that nobody wanted to buy or pay shipping and handling for.

He muted the TV and looked at her until she broke her concentration from the now silent television and looked at him. When he got her attention, he patted the couch beside him indicating he wanted her over there. She obliged and came to sit on the couch next to him.

"Whats on your mind, Selene?" Micky said as he looked at her with a look that made her feel that he was actually sitting there looking into her soul to see what he could see. There was no backing out of it now. She knew that he knew something was going on and she wasn't hiding it well.

He sat upright on the reclining sofa and took both her hands in his. "It's alright, whatever it is, it will be ok" He assured her.

She looked down toward her lap for a moment and broke eye contact with him and then regained eye contact after taking a deep breath.

"Remember the other day in the grocery store..." He stopped her mid sentence.

"It's ok, its not a big deal. Tabloids happen all the time and whatever it was, isn't true and it shouldn't worry you." He said reassuringly.

She didn't want to be reassured or silenced because this wasn't just any old tabloid story. This was serious. Someone had violated their privacy, taken advantage of them and stolen personal photographs for their own financial gain and then exploited them.

"No, its not ok!" She said with some alarm in her voice. This caught Micky a bit off guard.

"No, Micky...I'm afraid I really screwed up and its not good." She continued. "I went back and looked at that tabloid article and its 8 pages of our personal life!" she said.

"That's what tabloids do-they sensationalize the lives of celebrities so that people buy their magazine and keep reading it. It makes us all sound way more interesting than what we are. How did you screw up? You didn't write the article." He said, still showing little or no concern and possibly thinking that she had overreacted a bit.

"That's not it. I let her into our house, she lied and made me believe things in order to get information, she stole our photos right out of our album and stole your medical information and a lot of other stuff." Selene said, almost crying "And I let her do it and didn't even think twice about the possibility of anything like that ever happening."

"What are you talking about?" Micky said this time in a more serious tone.

"Beth! When she was here, I left her alone for just a few minutes and she apparently raided the house, stole our photos from the album, obtained photos of your medical information and all kinds of stuff as well as what I actually told her about our relationship." Selene informed him.

There was a silence.

"I thought I was telling a curious friend about my husband and bragging about our great relationship when in fact she was hanging on every word I said setting me up to provide her with the information she would then use in the article she wrote for that magazine." Selene stopped and choked as she began to cry.

"Selene, babe, what do you mean she stole our photos and my medical information?" Micky asked her, confused as he smoothed her hair with his hand.

"Talk to me, I need to know whatever it is that you know." He continued.

Selene got up off the couch and returned with the rumpled copy of the tabloid to show Micky what she was talking about. He didn't usually look at these things or give them the time of day but this one did get his interest immediately when he saw the candid and personal photos that had been taken of them during times when Selene had been helping him in or out of the car and kissed him while doing so as well as the photos that he knew were their private photos from the album that they kept in their home.

"Selene, have you checked the album to see if she actually took the photos from it?" Micky asked.

"Well, no, I just saw our photos in that magazine but no, I haven't checked to see if they are still physically in the book." She said as she went to pick up the book from their coffee table and look through it. The photos were still all there just where they had been when she put them in the book. Nothing had been physically stolen.

"She must have used her cell phone to photograph the photos and also take photos of things around the house." Micky said as he closed the magazine and in a fit of disgust, he threw it across the room toward the muted television.

"She asked to go to the restroom while she was here as well. She must have used her cell phone to take photos." Selene told Micky.

He was upset, not at Selene but just in general.

"She had no right to come into my-our- home and invade our privacy like this." He said in a quiet tone that indicated that he wasn't happy.

Selene was silent for a moment then sat down beside Micky again, taking his hand in both of hers.

"I also told her some things about our relationship." She said, embarrassed.

"I told her how great the sex was, how much I loved you and that you were the best thing that ever happened to me-in other words, that things were great. She took that and turned it into some embellished weird fetish story about a younger caregiver and an older disabled celebrity." Selene said "And I'm sorry I didn't see it coming before this happened. I should have known. This is all my fault. I'm really really sorry." She sobbed. She got up and left the room.

Micky hated seeing her like this but at the same time he was livid about the privacy invasion. He knew that Selene had honestly not meant any harm and remembered a time in his life when he would have lashed out at anyone who had engaged a reporter about his personal life. He had mellowed since he met her. She had managed to change him by just being there and just loving him. He pushed his fingers through his hair as he still sat there. A deep sigh escaped him, he switched the television off and picked up the photo album.

Selene was in the master bathroom and had very clearly had a moment of uncontrollable emotion. She couldn't stop crying, she was gasping for air and very clearly remembered the last time she felt like this-she was having a panic attack. Last time she felt like this was when she was involved in the shooting. She stood at the bathroom sink with her hands firmly planted on the vanity hanging her head down toward the sink trying to take some deep breaths.

From behind, she felt a gentle hand touch her lower back and slide around her hip and then another as he pulled her toward him and gently onto his lap where he held her, stroking her hair and wiping her tears.

"It's ok" Micky said with some concern as he held her close, one arm around her shoulder and the other hand at the back of her head. She nearly instantly felt the panic draining out of her and suddenly felt worn out and tired. She let herself fall into him, her face buried in his chest and shoulder and her arms around his neck. He continued to hold her and whisper gently in her ear.

"I love you and this is going to be ok." He said quietly.

It absolutely pained him to the core to see her this upset and know that she was upset because of something she had unknowingly done to him. He let her hold him and he held her until she relaxed. He managed to pull a washcloth from the shelf and soak it in cool water with one hand while holding her with the other, wrung it out and then told her "hold on babe, we're going to the bedroom" as he laid the damp washcloth on his wheelchair and then moved it and Selene who was still holding him, to the bedroom where he then coaxed her gently off of his lap and onto the bed. He could feel that she was in a weakened state from the panic attack she had experienced. She began to tremble as soon as she let go of him and lied down on the bed.

"Here love, this will make you feel better" he said as he blotted her face with the cool washcloth. Her face now looked blotchy and reddened from crying. Selene let him blot her face without protest with the cool cloth as she lay there on the bed facing him in the fetal position. He soon maneuvered to the other side of the bed and joined her on the bed, this time lying behind her, conforming his body to hers and his arm over her mid section. She had grasped his arm and hand with both of hers. It gave her an extra sense of security to feel him close to her like that and his arms around her. He held her until they both fell asleep. There was no need to verbalize any discussion. They had already talked emotionally and conveyed a mutual love for one another. There would be no need to discuss this further or make an issue of it within their relationship. If any action was taken, Micky would take care of it outside of their relationship and it would not concern Selene in any way. She did not deserve to have to be a party to these things that he had become so accustomed to during his life and career.


	36. Chapter 36

THE MAN NEXT DOOR  
CHAPTER 36

Micky woke up first, it was 6:30 AM; the morning sun was beginning to stream in through the large window across their bed. He realized that neither of them had properly gotten ready for bed the night before and that they had slept on top of the covers but all in all, everything was ok. Selene looked to be peacefully resting. She had moved during the night rolling over to face Micky, snuggled up next to him, one arm wrapped around him with her hand falling on his hip. He placed his hand over hers and a soft smile crossed his face. She was still beautiful and lovely in his eyes. He could comfort her during times like this and make everything ok and that's the stuff that kept him motivated, not what some tabloid had to say about his life. Beth hadn't the first clue about Micky and Selene's relationship nor did any of her readers. If the story sold, it sold. If not then that was fine too. He had what mattered and he had what mattered in life now and he knew it.

Micky carefully moved himself out of the bed leaving Selene to sleep. He knew how these panic attacks drained her. She would rest for a little while more. He wasn't planning to leave her alone too long though. He did want to be there when she awakened so that he was the first thing she saw after last night's horrific upset.

He made his way into the kitchen where he prepared a very light but healthy breakfast consisting of Greek yogurt, a couple of slices of toast hot tea and some scrambled eggs. He arranged the food on a tray and took it into the bedroom where he then placed it conveniently on the night stand while he got back onto the bed next to Selene. It was now a little after 7 AM, the sun was fully up and the morning light was pouring into the room. He got the Navajo blanket draped across the bottom of the bed and pulled it up over Selene. He secured it with his arm on top of the blanket over the middle of her body. They were lying on the bed forehead to forehead. Micky fell in love with his woman daily.

Selene slowly woke up and opened her eyes to meet Micky's. She was snuggled in the Navajo blanket and Micky's arms. He pulled her a little closer just then and kissed her on the forehead. "Good morning, sweetheart" he said in a quiet tone, stroking her hair.

She laid there in brief silence looking into her husband's eyes. "Thank you" She whispered, pulling herself toward him, hugging him then kissing his cheek.

"Thank you for not being mad at me last night" She clarified.

"No honey, its ok. I'm not mad at you at all. I could never be mad at you for something like that" He said, his smile going soft again.

That particular smile was the best thing coming from him.

"You should try to eat something" Micky said as he rolled over and brought the tray between them on the bed. He uncovered it revealing the breakfast he had prepared.

"High protein is good for you." he said offering her the strawberry Greek yogurt first then pouring two cups of tea out of the small teapot.

She propped herself up on some pillows and then moved the other pillows so that Micky could also prop up comfortably on the bed.

"Thanks" he said as he moved onto the pillows into a relaxed sitting position picking up the tray of food joining Selene under the Navajo blanket.

He fed her a piece of toast in between bites of yogurt. He ate the eggs also sharing a few bites with Selene.

It seemed as though all of the concerns of the previous evening had melted away and nearly vanished. Micky had tactfully handled the situation as usual.

-A WHILE LATER-

Micky had left the house for the studio. Selene had cleaned the breakfast dishes up and put everything away but suddenly felt a bit weak and nauseated. She decided to lay down on the couch for a while and take a rest. She fell asleep.

Micky had not went to the studio. In fact, he had only been to the studio a few times. He did however have a schedule that he was keeping on a regular basis. He didn't need time in the studio to cut an album spanning days or weeks. The truth was that he had already recorded the tracks necessary and was just letting the other guys do their job with covers and artwork. He had only in recent months came upon some information in his research on stem cell therapy for those with spinal cord injuries. Micky could be very science-minded and when it came to this, it interested him very much. He seemed to be a perfect candidate for the experimental procedure. He had read many publications about the procedure and the benefits therein. Today he was on his way to see a doctor for a consultation on the process. He was very close to having the procedure in hope that it would help him regain his ability to walk again. The doctor seemed optimistic about this which fueled Micky's interest and drive that much more.

Micky made the drive over to The University of Arizona College of Medicine where he would meet again with a board of doctors who were consulting about his procedure to discuss it more thoroughly. This shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. This was his first visit to a college campus in a very long time. It was nice, looked professional and seemed accessible. He had no trouble making his way along the sidewalks or navigating his way to the meeting.

He located an office where there were several ladies staffing a front desk area.

"May I help you?" A young cheeky brunette asked.

"Why yes. I have a meeting at 11:30 scheduled.

The brunette looked at her computer screen and quickly brought up a calendar showing the day's agenda.

"Mr. Dolenz?" She asked.

"Yes, that's correct." He replied.

"Please come right this way" she told him as she stepped out from behind the workstation and guided him through a door in the back that lead down a hallway past a series of offices. At the end of the hallway, there was a double door. She opened the door and directed him into a private suite which had a small kitchenette that featured a mini bar, microwave, sink and fridge as well as a nice buffet for serving food. There were some couches and ottomans around the room as well as some nice plants for ambience. Just beyond this room, there was another room partitioned off to its self. Inside, was a large oval table and about 12 or 15 chairs sitting around the table. The room was equipped with a state of the art sound system and projector with a huge screen at the front of the room and a white board at the back. The other wall featured a bank of windows that were partially covered by some heavy drapes that could be drawn in the event that the projector was to be used.

"This is where you will be meeting" the brunette said as she motioned Micky into the room.

He noted that there was a space at the table where there was no chair. He assumed that was his place at the table.

Just then a small group of professionally dressed men arrived at the conference room and began to gather in the front area.

"I'll let them know you are already here. Please make yourself comfortable Mr. Dolenz" She said as she turned to attend to the others arriving.

Micky went over to the spot at the table where there was no chair and assumed his position.

Several minutes went by but eventually the room filled with medical professionals he was to consult with. Since this was an experimental study they were conducting with grant funds through their program, he would have to meet with them and understand how their program worked, what was needed and how they would proceed with the study. He would be part of an ongoing medical study for several years to come after having this procedure. He was all for it if it could help him get back what he lost and help others as well.

His doctor, Dr. Roland, who was heading up this particular study group entered the room with the group of others followed by the brunette who Micky had found out was named Charlotte. She had a pitcher of iced water and a tray of glasses along with an ice bucket. These items were placed on the table so that they would be available if needed. Charlotte exited the room. The rest of the group took their places. Once everyone was seated, Dr. Roland greeted the group and introduced Micky to everyone. There were a couple of medical students in the group but it was mostly made up of professors and teaching faculty.

As the study was thoroughly explained and Dr. Roland went through the process, Micky realized that this could end up being more than an out patient procedure and that there might actually be some recovery time . Discussion about insurances and payment were part of the presentation. Money wasn't an issue for him. He could pay out of pocket to have this done. The problem was that this procedure was not approved by the FDA and therefore had to be completed outside the country. The closest facility that would offer services was located in Mexico several hours away. There were other facilities in Europe that could perform it however, the funding wasn't there to support a trip like that from the university side of things. It would be done in Mexico.

It became clear that Micky was a great candidate for this procedure. He had maintained his strength and where he had already regained some sensation and feeling following his injury and had been attempting to walk and stand with braces, the possibilities of him making either a partial or full recovery were greater than that of someone with less strength or mobility.

The various pros and cons were discussed about the procedure, Micky's activities were discussed as well as his current lifestyle, relationship status and more. After having undergone the barrage of medical inquiries and rehashing his medical records several times he was thoroughly mentally exhausted and was ready to return home.

The last thing that would be done was scheduling travel and the procedure. Dr. Roland had some contacts down in Mexico and they would be handling that afterward and getting back to Micky. He had asked them to e-mail him the information instead of calling because he hadn't told Selene what he was doing first and still needed to discuss it with her. He had wanted to find out as much as possible about it before he told her so as not to get her hopes or concerns up too much.

It was sweltering hot that afternoon to the point that pants and a polo shirt were no longer comfortable for him. He made his way to the Mercedes and immediately put the top back up and cranked up the air conditioning. It felt immediately wonderful. He had begun to sweat. He had a lot to think about along the drive home. When he arrived he came in to find Selene still on the couch napping. That was unusual but he figured she was still spent from the previous evening's events and panic attack.

He put his things away in the office and went to change his clothes. He decided that he was going to wear his shorts and a tank top. He seldom wore tank tops but today it was especially hot and he wanted to be comfortable. They weren't expecting any visitors nor were there plans to leave the house. He pulled the tank top over his head and stretched it until he put his arms through then pulled it the rest of the way down. It was a snug fit against his slim figure. He stopped by the bathroom to fix his hair a bit. Some of it had gotten a bit frizzed in the heat. He slicked it back down and went out into the living room where Selene was napping on the couch. She looked rested. He lightly cupped her face in his hand and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. The moment he made contact, her eyes opened. A bit shocked at first, she jumped a little. He placed his other hand on her and leaned in closer for a more passionate kiss. She returned the kiss wrapping her arms around him. This ended with Selene's hand on his bicep and tattoo. She gave a slight squeeze before letting go and moving to an upright position on the couch.

"How was the studio session?" She asked, still a bit groggy from her nap.

"It was about average." Micky replied in a nonchalant tone. He knew he was lying through his teeth. He hadn't been to the studio and he hated that but he wanted to make sure everything was in order before he told Selene of his plan.

"The new EP is coming along nicely" He added for good measure, taking her hand both of his and rubbing it.

"That's great, I can't wait to see it when it's finished!" She told him with an expression of evident and genuine excitement for him.

"You'll be the first...well, second I guess, after I see the first copy." He told her

-MICKY'S STUDY-

The glow from the computer screen was complimented by the sun's rays as they sank lower on the western horizon and a desk lamp that Micky had been using nearby. He sat at his desk in the study alone surfing the internet for additional information on the earlier meeting he had with Dr. Roland and team earlier. There were so many websites and so much information he didn't know where to start at first. He found this term "Medical Tourism" which interested him quite a bit, not only because it provided a way for people who don't have insurance to get medical treatment in foreign countries but because it also provided extensive information on treatments still considered "experimental" in the United States that had been practiced for years and sometimes decades in other countries.

One such procedure was the stem cell procedure that Micky was intending on undergoing in Mexico soon. He had already heard about the program offered at the university on this experimental procedure. It was his job now to pick a facility in Mexico where it could be done. He had some criteria outlined that had to be met so he began his search. It lead him to a facility six or seven hours from his current location down in Sonora, Mexico where it seemed that quite a few of these procedures had been performed with some successes to be spoken of. A couple of hours later he had corresponded via e-mail with Dr. Roland and his team about the facility. As it turns out, it was on their list of acceptable locations and was approved almost immediately without issue. The procedure was scheduled as in patient and was expected to keep him hospitalized for a few days. After that, he would be on his own medically and would need to seek follow up treatment on his own with the agreement that his care provider would report his progress back to the university. The amount of paperwork and medical releases were enormous. He hadn't signed this many things at once since his heyday as a Monkee in 1966 at the peak of Monkeemania!

By the time he was finished, he had a stack of printed papers that consisted of tourist information, lodging information, medical information and travel itinerary not to mention the required medical forms all typed and signed.

Micky bundled this neatly in several folders depending on what was what and packed that into a portfolio that went into his messenger bag. Everything was ready for final approvals, once he heard from Dr. Roland and was given the ok, he would book his travel.

It was nearly 9 PM by the time Micky had completed his work pertaining to his experimental medical procedure. Selene had been somewhere around the house doing her usual housekeeping here and there and otherwise not disturbing him while he was in his study. It was mutually understood that this was his space for time to himself.

He found Selene at the kitchen island looking through some of their photos. When he came into the room, she immediately popped her head up, her hair in a messy ponytail on top of her head. He grinned at her and came around to the other side of the bar taking her hand in his.

"Wanna go for a ride?" he asked indicating his lap.

"Sure" She said, almost in a questioning tone as she slid off the bar stool and gently positioned herself on her husband's lap as requested draping her arms around his shoulders that seemed unusually broad now that they were exposed by the tank top he was wearing. She lightly stroked his shoulder with her hand as he moved the chair through the house, out the sliding door to the back patio and then out beyond that into the yard where there was not a lot of exterior lighting other than that of the crescent moon. They could hear the evening noises but everything else was quiet. There was a bit of a chill in the air but it wasn't cold by no means, just a gentle breeze once in a while.

"I can't believe how beautiful it actually is out here at night in the yard. We should come out here more often" Selene said in a low tone in his ear.

"I think we should too." Micky replied. "Just the two of us out here all alone in the dark listening to night sounds and being with each other."

The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes just enjoying being with one another. Selene's arms still draped around Micky and her fingers now playing with his ponytail. She couldn't resist that. It was one of her favorite things about him.

"Hey babe" Micky said to get her attention. "I need to talk to you about something" He added.

Selene sat up straight from leaning into him, looked directly at him concerned and without saying a word he knew she was ready to listen.

"I've been doing some research on a procedure." He began as his eyes met hers. "It's an experimental procedure that might help me regain what I've lost" He continued.

Selene was paying attention but she didn't interrupt him.

"I've been talking to a doctor at the university and they think that I'm a great candidate for this procedure and I wanted to try it out." he said, seeming to be asking for Selene's permission or approval.

She nodded. "What kind of procedure?" She asked nervously. "If it's experimental, how dangerous is it?" She added.

"Oh no, its not dangerous or life threatening at all. The worst that could happen is that it just wouldn't work and things would be the same. Best case scenario, I'd be able to walk again." He told her.

"That would be great!" She exclaimed then stopped. "What is the success rate for this thing?" She wanted to know.

"Well, that's the thing. They haven't really studied it enough to define that but there have been several success stories to speak of recently from a facility in Mexico." He said.

"Mexico?!"Selene asked. "Why Mexico? I want to be with you!" She told him in no uncertain terms.

He could see the concern for him suddenly on her face. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and pulled her closer to him.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Selene." He said then he kissed her on the cheek to reassure her.

"Ok, good. I'm not letting you go off to another country by yourself to have some kind of experimental medical procedure done not knowing if you're going to come back to me in the same shape as when you left." She told him.

He went on to explain to her the process of stem cell therapy and what the expected result was as well as the whole spill about medical tourism and then he sprang his little surprise on her.

"I don't think I'll be up to traveling back in the car after the procedure" Micky explained. "So, I thought that we could just stay there for a week or so until I am able to make the trip back comfortably. We can enjoy the beach and relax a little." He explained.

"That actually sounds really nice but will you be able to enjoy any of that in your condition after the procedure?" Selene asked really not knowing the extent of what he was having done.

"Sure, I'll probably be a little uncomfortable and there wont be any getting in water or anything but I'll be able to enjoy the beach and relax at the hacienda that I'm going to rent for us." He said, this time with a little excitement in his voice. "And I'm sure you will make sure I stay comfortable." He added, winking.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37  
THE MAN NEXT DOOR

Everything was in place. The medical team had been sent to the destination in Senora Mexico to prepare for Micky's procedure and he was finishing the process of packing his and Selene's things for an extended stay in Mexico. Particularly his recovery which he had planned to spend in Bahía Kino on the beach in a beautiful private historic hacienda he had made arrangements to rent for the trip.

Micky made sure that both their passports were safely packed in his messenger bag which also included all of his medical information and records for the procedure. Two suitcases were packed with enough clothes for two weeks if not more. Selene had went over the checklist of items as Micky packed to assure that everything needed was there. She had made sure to pack clothing that was comfortable particularly for Micky and also items such as sunscreen, an umbrella, some blankets and a pop up beach cabana. She added a straw hat as a last minute item for Micky, unsure of whether or not he would be able to get down on the beach from his chair or not after his procedure.

When everything was packed, Micky helped Selene load the items into the trunk of the Mercedes so that they could start out on their trip early the next morning. They would be driving down. That was ok. Neither of them preferred flying and Micky knew that Selene particularly didn't enjoy it.

"Are you scared?" Selene abruptly asked Micky on their way back into the house.

He stopped, turned toward her and assured her as long as he had her, he wasn't scared and that everything would be ok. "Nothing bad is going to happen. The worst that could happen is that nothing at all happens and there's no change but even so, we still get a nice vacation out of it." He said.

She smiled and held the door as he went through into the foyer. She couldn't help but smile. She loved him.

She closed and locked the door behind them. Micky proceeded to the master bedroom. She followed shortly thereafter. He had already made his way into the master bath for a shower. She made the bed ready and then slipped into the master bath with him. The shower was large enough for two and fully accessible with built in hand rails and a bath chair.

"Mind if I join you?" She said as she cracked open the shower door.

He smiled from the shower chair, soap and bubbles strewn all over his body in all the right places, his hair wet and plastered to his forehead as he beheld the beauty of his wife standing there behind the frosted glass shower door completely in the nude, her long hair covering one of her breasts.

"You can join me anytime you like anywhere." he said in a sexy tone then motioned for her to come to him.

She slipped into the shower and close the door behind her. The water ran over Micky's body, down his shoulders and formed droplets on his nipples that in turn, dripped onto his abs leading her eyes down to his package which was partially covered by a pile of bubbles. She approached him. When she got close enough, he reached out and squeezed her left butt cheek in his hand then slipped his other hand up her right side until he met her breast and took that in his hand gently fondling it a bit. She was already turned on and he was getting there fast. She put her arms around his neck and slipped her hand up underneath his hair at the nape of his neck taking his head in her hands, straddling him with one knee on the shower chair and the other foot on the floor pushing his face into her voluptuous breasts briefly. His hands were all over her body by now and his lips caught her nipple and paused there for a moment as he allowed his tongue to play on the surface teasing it until it was hard then moving intentionally to the other one doing the same thing. Her body was smooth and curvy against his. She ran her hands along his torso stroking his body and defining every muscle and line as she went. Once he came up for air from her breasts, she took the opportunity and pulled him in for a kiss. She shoved her tongue between his lips and into his mouth and passionately kissed him; he groped her and kissed her back all the while holding her next to him. They couldn't get any closer if they tried.

Selene's hand slipped down Micky's waist into his lap finding his now enlarged package and wrapping around it. She began to pump and stroke with her hand until she stimulated him enough for him to feel it and become harder. She had found that it was more pleasurable for him due to his spinal injury if she could get prep him a little bit prior. Once he began to moan with pleasure, she shifted around a bit and guided him inside of her. Now it was his turn to pleasure her.

Micky, still groping her in a state of sexual ecstasy, managed to come back to his senses and take control just as she pushed him inside her deeper. He began to move a bit using his abdominal muscles to move the lower part of his body just enough to make it the right combination of gentle and pleasurable. Selene helped out a bit as well in order to reach her maximum climax and orgasm by moving back and forth slightly in rhythm with his movements. He also managed to massage her clitoris heightening her pleasure a great deal. With every motion, her breasts brushed against his face. He had some beard stubble which oddly enough was also a turn on. He licked and kissed her nipples every chance he got. The expression on her face was priceless and her screams were that of pure pleasure. Micky was also reaching climax but tried to hold it until she was finished before he let go. In one last deep plunge, she finished then began kissing him again and gyrating her lower body in a way designed to finish him as well-and she did. When climaxed, he literally saw stars for a moment. He loved how she was able to make him feel pleasure even though it wasn't what he had been accustomed to during previous years. He wondered how this would feel if his procedure were to be a success, if anything would change and even if she would still find him attractive. His body felt relaxed in the shower chair and he moaned at Selene as she pulled him out of her.

He reached for the water faucet and cranked the cold water up a bit. It had gotten quite steamy in the shower-in more ways than one. Selene was glowing. It was an after sex glow and he knew he was responsible for it. This deeply pleased him. The water had cooled down a bit which was refreshing for both of them.

"Want me to wash your back?" She asked him. He smiled, nodded and turned. Selene proceeded to lather up her hands and then massage his back with soapy hands. It felt good. Once he was nice and soapy, she gently used a washcloth on him and finished up rinsing him and adding a kiss from behind on his cheek.

"Love you" She whispered in his hear as she backed away.

"Love you too" He replied returning the favor of washing her back while she washed everything else. He was enjoying the view from back there.

The next morning, the alarm clock went off early as scheduled. Selene had prepped a heat and eat breakfast the night before so that they could get on their way quickly. For that, Micky was thankful. He was looking forward to the next few weeks but at the same time he was uncertain. Part of him knew that Selene enjoyed being needed and taking care of him. Another part of him desperately wanted to take care of her, take her on proper dates, pleasure her sexually and just generally be her man. He wanted that badly. He just hoped that it wouldn't affect their relationship negatively.

Since it was such a long trip, Selene opted to drive the car. It wasn't even daylight yet when they set out on their trip to Mexico. In fact, it was only a little after 4: 30 AM.

They drove south and watched the sunrise. Micky thought Selene looked particularly beautiful at that time of the day and at sunset. They used to call it "the golden hour" in Hollywood when the sun went down because of the beautiful hues it provided for photography. A few hours into their trip, Micky suggested they stop for a stretch and put the top down for the next leg of the trip. They would be driving through some unpopulated desert area for the next few hours and he wanted to top off the gas in the car, check the air in the tires and everything else that needed to be done before they set off in a southwestern direction.

Just up ahead, there was a gas station and a little Tex Mex restaurant. It was a rather charming little historic looking place. Selene parked the car, put the top back up fetched Micky's chair from the trunk and then helped him into it. They made their way into the restaurant and decided to order some burritos. Burritos were always good and they didn't eat them that often. Some tortilla chips, queso and salsa came out first. The salsa was fresh and homemade. Micky loved queso cheese and devoured that. Soon thereafter their meal arrived. It was also among some of the best Mexican cuisine they had ever had.

"What's on your mind? Selene asked, sensing Micky wanted to talk about something.

That caught him by surprise somewhat but he knew that she could tell that something was bothering him. It was the whole issue of worrying about the outcome of his procedure.

"Do you think you would still be attracted to me in the same way if the procedure worked?" He blurted out, looking down at his plate.

That particular statement took her completely by surprise.

She reached across the table placing her hand on his and eventually taking his hands in hers.

"Micky, I think I've loved you from first sight and you weren't injured whenever I met you. I dont think I could love you any less no matter what happens." She told him. "I would love for you to be able to walk again and do the things you use to enjoy doing and for us to do those things together but either way, whether that happens or nothing happens, I will always be here by your side." She assured him.

He smiled softly at her. "I feel a lot better. I just wondered about that because I know part of you enjoys taking care of me and the hands on aspect of certain things." He said.

"I wont lie, I do enjoy it, Micky...but at the same time I would love to see you fully recover because I know we would both enjoy that and the things to come." She told him.

They paid their bill and returned to the car. Once Micky was in the car, Selene took his chair to the trunk and got in the driver's side. The top went down and they made their way around to the nearest gas pump. Selene got out and filled the tank, swiped the card and then got back in the car heading to their destination. They drove for miles and miles seeing nothing but the arid desert landscape, cacti and even a few tumbleweeds. Selene was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get there.

"Micky, check the map and see where we are" she told him

He obliged and pulled it from the glove box turning it right side up as he unfolded the thing and located their position. He estimated that they should reach their destination within two more hours. The sun was beating down on the Mercedes as it pushed toward Bahía Kino.

Several more hours later, they arrived at the place Micky rented near the medical facility. It was a lovely little hacienda on the beach. It was much smaller than their house but it was romantic and cozy at the same time. The place was fully accessible, private and on one level. It featured a hot tub, walk in accessible shower, King size bed and this beautiful full size window in the bedroom directly in front of the bed that provided a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean wen the curtain was drawn back. The kitchen was minimal with a small gas stove, microwave and fridge. There was a small nook in the corner with a table for two and a sitting area. The entire place was decorated in historic southwestern decor.

They brought their bags in and settled in. Selene unpacked their things for their extended stay while Micky put some canned drinks in the fridge for later.

The beach was an amazing sight to behold when the curtains in the bedroom were drawn back. Micky still had a day before he had to check into the hospital for his procedure so they could go down to the beach and take some time to enjoy it before he would need to be taking it easy and resting.

Just then, Micky joined her in front of the large floor to ceiling windows to view the beach.

"Spectacular, isn't it?" He said

"It's amazing!" Selene said as she turned toward him dropping her arm around his shoulders. He leaned his head against her hip and continued gazing at the waves rolling in.

"You feel like going down there for a while?" She asked

He looked up at her grinning "Can't wait" he said, clearly looking forward to it.

Selene got out the beach wear that she had packed and handed Micky his swim trunks. She put on a one piece bathing suit that was black with white trim. It was a new one she had picked up. Micky hadn't seen it yet. She pulled out a cover up that she tied around herself in much the same way you'd tie a bath towel. It was also black with large printed tropical flowers in white. She quickly collected the towels, the pop up beach cabana and some sunscreen.

Selene waited for Micky in the kitchen where he soon came out in his blue swimming trunks and nothing else. She handed him his sun glasses as he approached her and they ventured outside. Unlike the previous beach they had visited, this one was a private beach. Additionally, Selene had located a handicap beach buggy that came with the rental waiting outside on the patio. It had large inflated wheels and was constructed of what looked like a light weight plastic with a mesh seat. This would tread the sand perfectly unlike Micky's wheelchair. She pulled it out of the corner and turned to Micky.

"You want to try this out" She said indicating the beach buggy.

It was just a little lower to the ground than Micky's wheelchair.

"I'll try anything with you" He said, again with a smile. He was in a great mood considering he was facing a surgery the next day.

She moved the beach buggy closer to him and held it securely in place so that he could move himself into it. He managed to lower himself onto the seat of the buggy without much difficulty at all and seemed to get comfortable pretty quickly.

Despite the fact that he didn't really enjoy Selene pushing him around in his chair, he overlooked that this one time to just enjoy the beach. Even more convenient, there was a space on the back part of the beach buggy to place items so that it was not necessary to carry them.

They made their way down the beach and the buggy moved across the sand surprisingly easily. It allowed them to go anywhere on the beach they wanted to go without giving a thought to whether or not the chair would get stuck in the sand or whether or not there was anyone nearby to help if they did run into a mobility issue.

They quickly found a spot. Selene whipped out the pop up beach cabana and popped it up. It was an amazing little thing that was lightweight, constructed of nylon and kept the sun off at the beach as well as the sand and wind while still allowing the user to enjoy being on the beach. Micky hadn't seen this little gadget in use yet but he thought it was pretty cool.

Selene put a towel down on the nylon floor of the cabana for extra comfort.

"Wanna join me?" She asked.

"Of course I do" Micky responded as he maneuvered himself out of the beach buggy and lowered himself to the warm sand where he was able to crawl into the cabana beside of Selene and lie on the sand. Nothing was sticking out but his feet. Selene rolled up another beach towel for him to use as a pillow for added comfort.

"Thank you, love" He said as he snuggled up beside Selene and with the beach towel pillow so that he could also see the ocean.

They sat there watching the ocean for what seemed like forever. It was completely relaxing. As they sat there, Selene's fingers mingled in Micky's ponytail. She also massaged his scalp gently. She knew he enjoyed that and it relaxed him. After a while, Selene asked him "Would you like to go down to the ocean and look for shells?"

"yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun."

She moved the beach buggy closer to him so that he could easily resume his position in it and then picked up their things stowing them on the rack in the buggy. She pushed Micky further down the beach closer to the water line so that the waves were actually hitting the buggy and he could stick his hand in the water. He was loving it. He was actually able to pick up shells on his own again without struggling with sand and other issues that came along with his condition.

Micky let the waves lap at his hands hanging outside the buggy for a while and then he began looking in the sand around him for some shells. He felt something in the sand, dusted it off and picked it up. It was a sand dollar. Mermaid money. It had been years since he had found one of these on a beach. They were thought to be a good omen. He pocketed it. Selene was nearby wading out into the ocean to pick up shells. She had already found some sharks teeth and a few small spiral shells. Nothing particularly unusual. Selene noticed that Micky was beginning to turn a little pink.

"You should let me put some sunscreen on you" She told him as she pulled the bottle of lotion out of her bag. He obliged as she unscrewed the lid and put a big glob on her hands and rubbed it into his exposed back and chest. Just the mere feeling of her touching him and rubbing his body turned him on.

They continued to comb the beach for a while longer before deciding to return to the hacienda. Selene pushed Micky and the beach buggy back up the beach and helped him back into his wheelchair. Before she could get through the door, Micky put his hands on her hips, looked up at her and asked her "Would you like to try out that hot tub sometime?"

It caught her off guard since she hadn't been expecting that and since he just abruptly mentioned it.

"Yeah, that would be ok. We can get in the hot tub" She said with a smile.

Selene approached the hot tub and unlatched the lid so that it could be removed. Steam poured out when the lid came off. The water was crystal blue and pure looking. It smelled of chlorine.

Micky was already out of his chair and had managed to sit on the edge of the hot tub. He picked up one leg with his hand and lifted it over the side and then the other one into the water. After that, he lowered the rest of his body slowly into the steamy bath. Selene followed. It felt good. Once she was fully in the water up to her chest, Micky flashed her a devilish grin and motioned for her to come to him. He spread his legs apart so that she would be able to sit in front of him then he wrapped his arms around her body in a hug from behind, nuzzled her neck and eventually began kissing her neck. She tilted her head back into his chest exposing more of her neck for him. His hands simultaneously ran up and down the length of her body against the slick silky bathing suit and eventually both his hands cupped her breasts gently.

Micky was already giving himself a huge boner that Selene could feel through his swim trunks poking her from the back. She leaned into him more and he continued groping her, kissing her and telling her he loved her. He wished he could fold his legs up around her as well. No matter how close he was to her, he wasn't close enough right now. When she thought he had reached a point that he wanted her to return the favor, she turned herself so that she was sitting sideways on his lap so that she could kiss him on the lips, hold him and once again, play with his ponytail. His hands were still all over her body and he was clearly pleasured. He reached over and pressed a button on the side of the hot tub that turned on the air jets and bubbles.

"How about that babe?" He said when the bubbles began to pulse.

"Feels awesome" Selene said as she continued to kiss him and gently slurp on his lower lip.

She eventually let herself fall back into his loving arms again as the water pulsed around them as they took turns pleasuring each other. This turned into a hot foreplay session. Micky decided that he wanted to move this to the bedroom. The two of them found themselves on a California King bed. Just then there was a bright flash that was seen through the curtains.

"Open the curtains, babe, there's a lightning storm going on over the ocean. It will really be spectacular" Micky requested from his position on the bed. Selene complied. Micky was right, it was spectacular. She returned to the bed where Micky was waiting with open arms to make love to her.

The two of them made love as the lightning raged outside. The epic light show added to the effect and ambience. There were shadows of Micky against the flashes over the ocean as he moved in and out of Selene. She fell back into the pillows as he kissed her on the mouth. The two of them were one for a brief moment. He brought her to orgasm and they fell asleep shortly after in each other's arms.


	38. Chapter 38

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

CHAPTER 38

Micky and Selene had arrived at the medical facility a bit early so that they could fill out paperwork and be admitted for the procedure. It was a large medical center. Much larger than either of them had imagined. The hallways seemed to go on forever. The strong smell of disinfectant was present everywhere. It seemed like a very clean and well-managed facility.

Micky was dressed for the procedure in a hospital gown and hooked up to various monitors, an IV and oxygen.

"Can I see Selene before we do this?" Micky asked the nurse.

She nodded and sent an orderly to fetch Selene. She was there quickly.

It was difficult for her to look at him hooked up to all of those things. It brought back bad memories but she tried to put that out of her mind. This was a different circumstance and would hopefully have a positive outcome.

"Come here to me." Micky said to Selene indicating that he wanted her on the left side of the bed near him.

She approached the bed and placed both of her hands on his forearm since there was an IV stuck in the back of his hand. She stroked his arm.

"No matter what happens, I love you" She told him.

"I know, babe. I know." He replied.

She moved her hand to his shoulder. He took it in his opposite hand and kissed her fingers then locked his fingers in hers pulling her hand down so that he was holding their hands over his heart. Selene could feel his heart beating beneath her hand as well as the strength in his gentle squeeze of her hand.

The nurse was busy at the bottom of the bed placing circulation boots on Micky's feet and hooking them up. He hardly felt anything at all while she was doing this.

Selene leaned in and kissed Micky lightly on the corner of the mouth and whispered "good luck, love you." as she pulled away, her hand now on his thigh and the other one on his shoulder.

Just then, Dr. Roland and a team of several other medical professionals came into the room and surrounded the bed where Micky was laying to discuss the procedure. After a few minutes, they swept him out of the room. He reached his hand out to Selene as he went by, caught her hand and lightly squeezed her it in his while flashing her that soft smile that let her know he was going to be ok.

One of the orderlies directed Selene to what seemed like her own private waiting room. There was a broad selection of magazines, a television, a couch and several comfortable chairs. One side of the room featured several windows overlooking some pleasantly landscaped area down below while the other wall had some relaxing abstract artwork. There was also a small counter top with a sink, some individually packaged plastic cups, a coffee maker and a microwave. This seemed much more inviting and comfortable than the last hospital waiting room she had found herself in. She prepared to settle in for a few hours while Micky was in surgery. She didn't know how long this would take or what the outcome would be but decided to keep herself busy to pass the time a little faster.

She surfed the channels on the television only to find most of them were in Spanish and she couldn't understand half of what was going on. She finally found some familiar "I Love Lucy" episodes with Spanish voice overs. That was an interesting experience. She had seen those reruns so many times that she knew them by heart. After several episodes of Lucy, The Monkees, of all shows, came on. This one again had a voice over. Selene hadn't had the pleasure of seeing too many of these episodes since she had met Micky. It was hard to believe that she was with him now and these shows dated back to the 60s when he was closer to her age.

She marveled at how skinny and toned he was back then. He had that same soft smile then as he did now. She wondered what life would have been like if she had lived back then and met him. She wondered if their relationship would have lasted all these years and been as perfect as it was right now. Maybe the time wouldn't have been right and their lives would have taken a very different course. She could only wonder as she sat there watching him with his friends goofing off, running up and down the beach and having a great time.

She found him just as handsome then as he was now. In fact, she felt that he was somehow more attractive with age.

The clock on the wall told her she had been waiting for 3 and a half hours. already. There had been no updates on Micky's status. The phone on the other side of the room had not rang. She had been expecting someone to call her and provide an update at some point. Nonetheless, she decided to stay put and kept telling herself that he was fine and everything would be ok.

A full two hours later, that phone rang. It was Dr. Roland with an update.

"Mr. Dolenz has finished the surgical procedure and is resting in recovery at this time. He will require rest for the next several days but we feel optimistic about the procedure." He assured her.

"I'll be sending for you soon if you'd like to be with him" he added.

Selene was thrilled to hear these words. "Thank you so much!" She said with excitement that seemed to escalate with every word.

Fifteen minutes later, a nurse came to the waiting room to speak with Selene about Micky.

"Micky is stable and is resting comfortably for now. It's important to keep him calm when he wakes and make sure he doesn't try to move around too much. He will likely be in some pain from the procedure and may possibly begin to regain sensation which will be translated and recognized by the nervous system as pain." She advised. "This pain is actually a sign of success but he will require some therapy in order to benefit fully from this procedure" She continued.

"Please come with me" The native Mexican nurse requested of Selene, holding the door open leading to the hallway and walking with her to another section of the hospital where the recovery rooms were.

Selene entered a room with the nurse. Micky was lying flat on a hospital bed hooked into everything that he had previously been attached to and then a few extras. He was still receiving oxygen and looked pleasantly rested. She stood beside him watching his chest rise and fall.

"Sometimes talking to them helps them come out of it a little quicker" The nurse said as she quickly checked his vitals.

They had placed a warm blanket over Micky. It was pleasantly warm. Selene found his hand and held it in hers gently so as not to bump or rearrange any of the things he was connected to.

"Micky, are you in there, it's Selene. I'm here with you" She said as she held onto his hand. She kept speaking to him. Eventually she felt him lightly squeeze her hand.

She squeezed his in return. After several more minutes, he half opened his brown eyes and focused on her.

"Selene?" He said in a whisper. "is that you?"

"Yes love, it's me. I'm right here." she assured him, moving in a little closer to him so that he could see her better without moving himself. She smoothed his hair back with her hand so that it wouldn't be on his face. The surgical cap had gotten it a bit out of shape.

He began to try to move a bit and she steadied him by placing her hands on his shoulders.

"No hon, dont try to move around. You need to lie still right now." She told him, maintaining her hands on him until she knew that he understood and stopped trying to move.

After another hour or so, he seemed alert enough to carry on conversations and was therefore moved out of the recovery ward and into a private room. This room was a lot more convenient than other hospital rooms Selene had been in. Like the waiting room, it seemed to have several extras available that weren't normally there. It featured a couch and a recliner as well as a coffee maker. Meals were provided on order. It was almost like being at a hotel with room service. It was very nice compared to the American hospitals.

A nurse came by to check vitals and keyed that information into a portable computer unit she brought with her that rolled around on a cart. "Are you comfortable?" She asked Micky.

"Yeah"

"Any pain?" She asked as she began checking the circulation boots and his feet making her way around to the other side of the bed to fiddle with the IV stand and drip bags.

"No, just a little uncomfortable" Micky told her. "Maybe if I could sit up a bit" He said.

"Sure, you can sit up. It's ok for you to sit up, just try not to move around a lot" She told him as she moved the bed into a sitting upright position and elevated his feet as well.

He felt some pain as the bed slowly moved into a sitting position but he was still groggy enough that it didn't really matter and he had enough liquid pain killers in him to keep it from being too much of a problem right at that moment.

Selene had stepped back out of the nurse's way so that she could do her job. When she was finally finished and had left the room, Selene pushed the room door shut and came back over to Micky's bedside.

Still a bit groggy, he wasn't incredibly focused on what was going on around him and he wasn't terribly concerned about anything either. He smiled at her though. Groggy or not, she still made him smile. She returned the smile as she fixed his hair to her satisfaction. She couldn't believe how frazzled it was when it was down and not in the ponytail he usually wore. It was at this time that she realized that she hadn't really seen him all that many times with his hair down. As she smoothed it and combed it with her fingers, he seemed to be enjoying it. He closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Rest was supposed to be good for healing the body so Selene decided to let him rest until he awakened again.

It was a few hours later when he finally did awaken and he was now experiencing some pain in his lower back and legs. He moaned as he woke up. Selene came right over to him to see what was the matter.

"It hurts" He said as he attempted to move around.

"Don't move around too much" Selene said, placing a hand on his shoulder just to make sure he didn't move too much unintentionally or not realizing it.

"Where does it hurt, sweetheart?" She asked.

"Back hurts pretty bad and my legs are...aching." He said, almost surprised that he was able to say that he felt sensation in his legs on that level. He stared at them laying there under the blanket and suddenly realized that he could feel pain again all the way to his feet. He had sensation.

"Selene, touch my legs and feet...please..." He said, sounding either frightened or amazed.

She ran her hand down his torso along the hospital gown and then kept moving her hand lower until she felt his hip bone then his thigh, then his knee. From there, she moved to his feet, his toes sticking out the circulation boots and held his big toes in her hands.

She looked at him and their eyes met. The expression on his face was mixed.

"You didnt feel that, did you?" She asked him, in a solemn tone.

He shook his head, casting his eyes down toward his lap.

Selene returned to the top of the bed, let the rail down so that she could get close to Micky and caught his hand in hers.

"It's going to be alright. Just give it some more time. You have only been out of surgery for a few hours. We don't know what this is going to do yet." She told him.

He was looking down at their hands and fidgeting with her hand all the while. "I know, but I was just so excited about it and then nothing." He said in a depressed tone.

"I'm no doctor but I think these stem cell things have to have time to do their thing." She told him. "It's not going to be instantaneous."

"Yeah, I knew that. It was just oversight on my part." He said.

"Are you hungry?" She asked him, realizing that neither of them had eaten in quite a while.

He didn't answer her right away.

"I'll have a few things sent up" She said picking up one of the information pamphlets in the room to look at the options.

Selene looked through the laminated papers that were available in the room. One was a television channel guide which was mostly written in Spanish however, the food menu contained Spanish and English as well as photos which made it much easier to pick out the items that they wanted. There was a huge variety of items on the menu considering they were not staying at a hotel or in a restaurant. Most of the items sounded delicious despite the fact that it was hospital food. There were even Nachos on the menu available with toppings such as guacamole, cheese, sour cream and onion. Also available was a meat option. Selene thought the nachos sounded particularly appetizing and had the idea that she might get Micky to eat some of that. She finally decided upon a couple of veggie burritos, nachos and water with lemon, placed the order using the phone in the room and turned her attention back to Micky who was now attempting to read the Spanish TV channel guide. Thankfully there were logos beside each channel, some he recognized, others he didn't because they were local access channels unavailable in the US.

Selene found the remote for the TV and handed it to him. He looked up from the channel guide, took the remote and smiled slightly at her. She could tell that he wasn't doing this because he was at all interested in what was on TV, he was doing it to take his mind off all of the possibilities he could have concerning his outcome. He would either experience no change at all in his condition, partial return of sensation and motion or a complete recovery. Obviously he really was hoping for the latter option but that was on the far end of the spectrum. There had been successes but the rate had not been 100%, that's why this process was still considered experimental. Still yet, Selene didn't like seeing Micky in this funk he had slipped into after the surgery, especially after they had such a great time prior at the beach where they would stay for a short while during his recuperation.

Within a half hour, food was delivered to the room. It smelled tantalizing. This was very unusual for any food served in a hospital in America. It arrived on a cart brought in by one of the cafe workers. The man who brought it disappeared outside the room for a moment then returned with a rolling table that pulled right up to Micky's bed. He placed all of the food on that table arranged nicely. Each plate was covered so that the food was nicely steamed when it arrived. Silverware was placed on the table-actual silverware, not plastic forks and spoons- the water was served in a pitcher of ice with freshly sliced lemons on the side and there seemed to be a complimentary dessert as well-two bite size pieces of deep fried cheesecake.

The cafe worker thanked them for their order and left the room closing the door behind him as he exited.

Selene made her way around to Micky's bedside so that she could access the table as well. She removed the covers from the main course allowing a wonderful aroma to fill the room. This was a wet burrito so it would have to be eaten with a fork. Selene took it upon herself to go ahead and cut Micky's burrito into small bite size pieces so that he could eat it without any trouble and to minimize his efforts. She poured a glass of water from the pitcher and squeezed a couple of lemon wedges into it.

Micky sat reclined on the bed seemingly comfortable for the time being watching her do her thing with his food. He didn't protest. He was still just a bit groggy from the anesthesia and the pain medication that was still dripping from his IV. When Selene finished cutting up his food on the plate, she noticed that he had been watching her.

"Want me to feed you?" She asked half joking and half serious. That got a smile out of him.

"I think I'll be ok to eat the food on my own." He said with a slight giggle.

Selene slid his plate back over in front of him so that he would be closer to it and then proceeded to take out one of the napkins and unfold it tucking it into his shirt for him. As she did, he managed to catch her hand and kiss her fingers quickly as she finished.

"Love you, babe" He said as he picked up the fork and tried the food. Normally he wouldn't have been looking forward at all to consuming any sort of hospital food. He had been served his fair share of it but this was amazing!

Selene smiled at him, her mouth suddenly full of food as she had taken a big bite. They finished the burritos pretty quickly and moved on to the plate of loaded nachos that Selene had added to the order.

She plucked one off the top of the plate that had a generous amount of toppings and offered it to Micky. Instead of taking it, he opened his mouth and let her feed it to him. She managed to get some of the cheese sauce on the corner of his mouth in the process so she leaned in and kissed him there licking it off his face.

He smiled and stroked her arm and hand. She continued to feed him the nachos one by one. It seemed they were both enjoying this as well as the food.

After the nachos were gone, there was still the small saucer with the two deep fried cheesecake bites. They were covered in cinnamon and sugar. Selene picked up one of the two and gently brought it to Micky's lips while she slipped her other hand behind his neck and played with his hair. He clearly enjoyed the cheesecake bite being fed to him. Once he swallowed it, he took Selene's fingers, now covered in cinnamon and sugar, and licked them clean one by one slurping each one into his mouth individually kissing each finger when he was finished with it. Once he was done with this, he picked up the other remaining cheesecake bite and fed it to her. His fingers brushed against her plump lips as he brought it to her mouth. She likewise took his fingers into her mouth and licked the cinnamon and sugar off them kissing them returning the gesture.

After the food, there was still ice water. Selene topped off Micky's class as well as her own and squeezed another lemon wedge in each. She offered Micky a drink of water holding the glass and straw for him while he slurped nearly a quarter of the glass down. She sat it aside with hers and moved the table from the bed area returning to sit on the side of Micky's bed. She had managed to really enjoy the meal. It got him out of the funk he was in and she wanted to keep that going so she continued flirting with him and being mildly physical with him. As she sat on the edge of the bed beside him, she took his hand that didn't have an IV needle in it in her own and eventually placed it on her thigh lightly rubbing his hand every once in a while as she held it. She brought back the TV remote and without asking what he wanted to watch, she turned on the TV and began surfing channels to see what was on. Everything was in Spanish which was to be expected but it was fun to watch. As she clicked through the channels, Micky managed to gently tug her in toward him a little closer and rest the side of his head on her.

She stopped briefly on some sort of a music channel that was showing a video that seemed familiar to her.

"She was really good." Micky exclaimed as he watched the video to the end. On the screen, Selena danced around in an old video from the 90s singing "Como La Flor"

"Yeah, its really sad that she was murdered" Selene said as she watched the close of the video.

"That's such a loss" Micky said, recalling the original news clip. He remembered seeing it on a TV in a hotel room while going through one of what would be many separations from his last wife and being stunned to disbelief.

The sun was going below the horizon and the stars were scattered across the twilight sky. It was almost time for the IV bag to be changed out for a fresh one and for the doctor to come back around and see how Micky was doing. He had become slightly restless since eating but it was probably because the drugs were wearing off and running out. Before leaving his bed, Selene leaned down and kissed him rather passionately but gently on the mouth. He held her with both hands as she leaned over into him from the side. Her warm body sure felt great when not a lot of other things were feeling great at the moment. The hospital bed wasn't the most comfortable in the world but her boobs were soft and cushy. This put the thought of the uncomfortable hospital bed at the farthest corner of his mind for the moment. He couldn't have been more satisfied. She twirled his hair around her fingers and eventually rested her hand at the back of his neck bringing him in for another kiss before she hopped off the bed, put the rail back up and waited for the doctor to come back in.

"I think that last one made my blood boil a little bit, honey." Micky said with a sly smile on his face. "Hope it doesn't cause them to blow up their blood pressure machine." He said with a giggle.

Selene smiled. "I think you're gonna be ok" She said sincerely to him.

Just then the doctor came in, greeted them and proceeded to ask Micky some questions making some notes about his responses.

"How have you been feeling since you came out of surgery?" He asked Micky.

Micky didn't hesitate to detail to the doctor that his pain medicine seemed to be wearing off.

"It's been uncomfortable for a little while." He said.

The doctor made some more notes. "And where are you having pain and what level of pain are you having?" He inquired.

"I'm having stabbing pains in my lower back and legs. It feels like someone's stabbing me with a hot poker other times though." Micky indicated.

Selene sat on the sidelines somewhat astonished at the amount of paid Micky was detailing to the doctor. He hid it well if he was in that much pain.

The doctor moved to the foot of the bed and uncovered Micky's feet that were still in circulation boots. He examined his feet and then checked them for feeling. Micky's toes flinched just a bit. There was sensation.

Selene continued to observe as the doctor proceeded to examine her husband discussing more about pain and that it was a good sign but could be managed with medication. Micky seemed unusually eager for another round of pain medication. This could only mean one thing-his addiction had been triggered again and Selene knew what she had to do. When the doctor left the room after giving Micky a positive report, Selene followed him out the door and down the hall until she rounded the corner where she was completely out of earshot of Micky's room.

"Doctor, can I have a moment?" She said as she approached him.

The middle aged doctor stopped and turned around to look at her.

"Yes?"

"It's about my husband." She said with a shaky voice. For some reason she was nervous. "He has a problem you need to be aware of." She continued.

"What kind of a problem?" he asked. "Is he experiencing unusual symptoms or depression?" He inquired. "If so, we can prescribe some medication and therapy that will help." he offered.

"No, you don't understand..."Selene interrupted. "My husband has a prior history of prescription drug addiction and abuse and I think his addition has been triggered with the medication he has been getting here." She said. "He hasn't been acting like himself since he came out of surgery." She said in a straightforward tone.

"I didn't see any notations of this issue in his prior medical history." The doctor said as he flipped through his patient file double checking for any indication of prior addiction. "No, nothing in here at all about that." He added.

"Micky can't keep having narcotic pain killers while he is going through this. There has to be something else he can be given..." Selene pleaded.

The doctor continued looking through the file and made some notes on the margins of one of the papers he carried in that file.

"Well, there is an alternative but it isn't generally recommended." He advised.

Selene looked at him waiting for the rest of the response.

"He always has the option not to receive any medication but he may be in moderate pain for a while until his nerves begin to function as they should and the pain its self can be debilitating." he explained. "On the other hand, we can monitor his intake of medication here at the facility and detox him before he leaves but that would just be making him more comfortable and putting off symptoms for him to deal with outside of the facility." he explained further.

Selene told the doctor in no uncertain terms "Micky isn't going to be getting addictive medications while he's here. I have to make sure he doesn't slip back into his addiction."

"Are you certain of this decision?" The doctor asked before writing another note on the medical records.

"Yes!" Selene said. "I am positive."

"I'll take care of it." The doctor said rather curtly then turned to finish the rest of his rounds. Micky would not receive anymore pain medication at the hospital. Selene would have to be his medication and help him get through whatever pain he was having. She knew that he would experience some withdraw symptoms from the medication he had already taken but she was going to wait it out and then try to help him get through the rest. She was confident in herself and in their relationship. She returned to the room and found Micky hugging an extra pillow and sobbing quietly, his face buried in the pillow.


	39. Chapter 39

Selene came around the bed so that she was beside of Micky. She lowered the rail on the bed and wrapped her arms around him pulling him gently toward her, pillow and all.

"What's wrong love? Tell me what's going on." She said in a soft tone directly into his ear. "it's ok." She reassured him. "I'm here with you and I'm not leaving."

Micky wasn't really talking. He was crying so hard he was shaking in her arms. She held him closer, placing one hand on the back of his head and the other arm around his shoulder. She was trying to not only comfort him but also prevent him from moving too much or straining himself after his procedure. He let go of the pillow at some point and reached out for his wife, tears continuing to fall from his eyes and then he spoke softly.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered into her shoulder as she held onto him and he held her. "I'm so sorry for this." he continued.

Selene, for a moment, had no idea what he was talking about but then it became clear to her.

"I've been faking it." He said. "My addiction..." He stopped.

Selene kissed him on the forehead and stroked his hair a bit as she held him.

"I already know." She told him in a soothing tone. "I'm not mad at you, I'm not going anywhere and we will get through this together." She said. "I'll make sure you're alright."

When he had calmed down a bit more, she moved the pillow back where it was supposed to be and gently moved him back into a normal position on the bed which caused him to wince just a bit in pain from his lower back. "It's ok. I still love you." She reassured him.

She stayed by his side for quite a while into the late hours of the night because she knew secretly that he needed to be reassured that she wouldn't leave him. After all, he had admitted that he was having a problem again and needed help. She was happy that he had done so. His ex hadn't been so kind to him where his addiction was concerned. He had to deal with it alone. Selene didn't want that for him this time around. She truly loved the man laying on that hospital bed and she was going to be there for him always.

He had been given a sedative to calm him earlier. He was drifting in and out of sleep. Selene moved a reclining chair as close to his bed as she could get it so that if he did wake in the night, she would be right there. He could reach out and put his hands on her if he needed her or just wanted to know that she was near.

She fell asleep with her hand wrapped in his.

The sunlight began to filter through the panel of windows in the room. Selene had forgotten to pull the curtains the previous evening. She awakened to find Micky watching her as she slept.

"How long have you been watching me?" She said in a quiet voice.

He smiled softly and said "Long enough to know that you've spent the entire night holding my hand." then he picked up her hand, still in his, brought it to his lips and kissed it. She smiled. He seemed to have gotten a good night's rest despite the fact that he woke up before she did.

"How are you feeling today?" She wanted to know

Micky looked down at his legs and feet under the blanket then back at her. "I feel ok. Just a little grimy is all." He said.

"Maybe we can see about fixing that." Selene said. "We could give you a bath." She said. "You haven't had a bath in a couple of days" She reminded him.

He was starting to grow some stubble on his face from not shaving. "That would be nice but only if they will let you do the bathing." He informed her. "This broken down body is for you only." He said with a little giggle.

"Of course I'll give you a bath." She said.

An hour later, breakfast was brought to the room for Micky. There was enough for two people. It consisted of eggs, toast, an orange, milk and grits. This seemed rather traditional fare. The food was pretty tasty though. Micky split the eggs with Selene and let her have the bowl of grits. He ate the rest and shared the milk.

A little while later, a nurse came in to check vitals and see how things were going. It was then that Micky asked her about taking a shower.

"Sure you can take a shower as long as someone is with you at all times." She told him. "I'll bring you some toiletries." She told him.

She left the room and returned with a container filled with soap, towels, a sponge and some lotion. She placed these items in the bathroom that was attached to his private hospital room and then returned to the bedside, lowered the rail and then another nurse brought in a wheelchair.

"We are going to transfer you into this wheelchair and put you on the shower chair." They told him as they carefully lifted him off of the hospital bed and into the wheelchair. They disconnected a few of his IVs in the process.

Selene got up and followed them to the bathroom where they placed him on the shower chair. He was still in his hospital gown but nothing else. He still had a few things attached to himself that she would have to be mindful of but that was ok, she could work around it.

"Please buzz us when you need us to come back and help get him back to the bed." One nurse said as they both left to go on about their rounds.

Selene and Micky were left alone in the bathroom, he was sitting in the shower on the chair in a hospital gown and she was looking at him. Those nurses hadn't even made sure that he was comfortable there before leaving. His feet did not appear comfortable. That was the first thing Selene fixed. She moved his legs so that his feet were both flat on the floor of the shower instead of laid over to one side, his toes bent.

The next thing was to get him out of that awful hospital gown. It was half off of him anyway. She unsnapped the rest of the buttons on it and removed it. He was now completely naked in front of her.

"Like what you see?" He said in somewhat of a coy tone.

She took a step back and looked him over then said "I love what I see sitting there." giving him the eye.

She turned on the water before she switched it to the shower head and made sure that it wasn't going to be ice cold when it hit him. She then turned on the shower head and water began to rain down on him. He looked up into it, letting it run all over his head and face. It clearly felt good for him.

Selene opened one of the soaps that was included in the container the nurses had left. It was a shower gel. It smelled manly. She squirted some of it on the sponge and lathered it before applying it to Micky's shoulders and torso. She made sure to carefully wash every inch of his bare chest and massage his shoulders gently. When she was done there, she washed his arms and then moved to his lower body where she carefully washed his legs individually and both his feet. The suds had pooled in all the right spots. She massaged his feet a bit. She had also washed around his incision on his lower back. It looked like it was healing nicely. They had apparently used some sort of waterproof glue adhesive on it instead of stitches or staples. This made it a little more comfortable and flexible.

"Selene, I think I can feel that." Micky suddenly said as she had his left foot in her hand massaging his toes.

She suddenly stopped and looked up at him. "Seriously?" She said.

"Yes, do it again" He told her.

She hadn't let go of his foot but she massaged in exactly the same place she had before. Micky was able to wiggle his toes in response.

"Oh my god! you can move your toes!" She said. "Do you know what you just done?" She said excitedly.

"Yeah, I did that" Micky said with a smile.

Selene rinsed him off and shut off the water.

"I don't want you doing anything except what the doctors tell you to do." She told him as she was drying him with the provided towel. She was literally doing everything for him at this point so that he didn't have to lift a finger to do anything. She had become very excited at the fact that he was able to move his toes and have some sensation return.

She once again, took each part of his body in her hands and dried him carefully so as not to leave any wet spots that could irritate his skin. Once he was thoroughly dry, she reached for the lotion bottle.

"What are you doing to me now?" He asked.

She looked up from the lotion bottle "I'm going to put lotion on you so that your skin won't get dry and irritated." She replied, squeezing a glob of lotion into her hand and rubbing it in then applying it to his hands first, then his elbows, knees and feet. She also applied some lotion to his legs. Her smooth hands passed over just about every inch of his body at some point or another. She couldn't help but notice that he had a huge erection by the time she was finished. She touched it gently. "Need me to take care of that?" She asked him.

He was pleasantly surprised that she initiated sexual activity with him being in the unattractive shape he was in. If nothing else, it made him feel better and more confident.

"Here? Now? In the hospital?" Micky asked.

Selene smiled and began jacking him first softly and then gradually getting faster and harder using the lotion as lube which made it all the more pleasurable until he climaxed and exploded. He hadn't moved from his spot on the shower chair but he was now breathing heavily and needed another shower. Selene ignored that for the moment at hand as she came back up to his eye level, bent down and passionately kissed him, her tongue dancing all around inside his mouth.

She pulled away, looked him in the eye and said "You still do it for me even in the hospital and I can't wait for you to do it to me when you get out."

"I hope I can lay you down proper when I recover from this. There's nothing more I'd like to do than treat you like my lady." He said as she turned the water back on and proceeded to clean up the mess she had made and dry him off again.

Once she was finished with this, she managed to gently get him back into the hospital gown and covered before the nurses returned to help him back into the wheelchair and back into his hospital bed.

She hadn't responded to his earlier comment. Once he was back in the hospital bed and comfortable and they had the room to themselves again, She sat on his bedside, leaned in toward him, and kissed him on the lips.

"I can't wait for you to lay me down proper, Micky." She said in a sultry tone. "I'll be looking forward to it." She added.

"I love you" He said, gently wrapping his hands around her lower body allowing his arms to rest comfortable against her perfect body that he desperately wanted.

"You're a great lover but I can't wait to see what happens next." She said to him, gazing into his eyes with a sense of girlish innocence about her that he hadn't seen in decades.

-AFTER LUNCH-

Micky was in a great deal of pain. Selene knew this. She could tell by the way that he looked that he wasn't faking it for the drugs this time around. He was lying flat on his back clinging to the extra pillow, silent tears streaming down his face. He was trying hard not to make a scene over it even though every part of him wanted to scream out in pain.

The pain in his legs and lower back had really flared up since he was bathed earlier. It was thought that it could have been from moving him around and increased activity since the surgery. The nurse had indicated that this was a good sign though and may be an indicator that physical therapy should begin soon in order to encourage the nerves to respond and send messages.

The doctor came in and checked Micky out. He didn't find any issues outside of the pain and informed Selene privately that they could give him some medication to help it if she would like for them to do that. She declined noting that they had decided he would not take medication for pain. He had not asked for anything either.

Selene once again returned to his bedside to see if she could offer any comfort to him. He felt her warmth near his body and reached out with one hand for her still clinging to the pillow with his other arm.

She took his hand and began to rub his forearm.

"I'm here, Micky and it's going to be ok."

He whimpered

"You just need to breathe and listen to the sound of my voice." She said as she continued to rub his hand and forearm. She brushed a tear from the side of his face and cupped his face in her hand. He squeezed her other hand that he was holding hard when he had another stab of pain.

The bout of pain continued for a while but then seemed to subside as he worked through it with Selene to a point that he no longer needed to cling to the pillow and was speaking again.

"The pain is so hard, honey" He told Selene, obviously exhausted from enduring it. His arms were now at his sides as he found some comfort in relaxing a bit and doing deep breathing exercises guided by Selene.

"Wouldn't be able to get through this without you." He told her, his eyes briefly opened to meet hers. They still looked watery from earlier.

Finally, he drifted off into a restless sleep which afforded Selene the opportunity to rest a bit. She took the recliner as usual and moved it as close to the bed as she could get it so that if he woke during the night, she would know about it and it wouldn't be too hard for him to wake her if he needed anything.

He did wake her a few hours later although unintentional. He seemed to be having some sort of a nightmare that had resulted in him mumbling in his sleep. Selene woke up to "...Please just let me die..."

She immediately sat upright in the chair and checked to make sure he was in fact having a nightmare and wasn't awake muttering about death. She sat down on the side of the bed and placed both her hands on his shoulders to steady him a bit so that he wouldn't be inclined to try and move too much when he did wake up.

"Micky, It's ok, I'm here. Wake up" She said to him, lightly squeezing his shoulders. She patted him on the side of the face gently. He flinched away.

"I'm dying...I can't go on" He mumbled under his breath. His breathing was rapid at this point. She patted his shoulder which finally did awaken him. His eyes jerked open in the moonlit room She could see the light glisten off his brown eyes but they were staring right through her for a moment, not at her.

"It's going to be ok, Micky. It was just a dream" She said in her most comforting voice as she held him by both shoulders until he was alert enough to realize it was a dream and calm down.

He found her hand with his and took it, holding it over his heart with both of his hands. She could feel his heart racing and pounding but slowing down with every beat as his chest rose up and down with every breath he took.

"It was so real." He told her, casting his eyes down on their hands. "So damn real."

"What was it?" She asked him.

"I dreamt that I swallowed a handful of pills and the pain was horrible...unbearable." He told her.

"I don't want to die." He told her, squeezing her hand hard and not realizing it.

"No, no Micky. You aren't going to die. We are going to get through this and you are going to be ok. You're a strong man and I love you." She assured him. "We will get through this."

She smoothed his hair back down and straightened it out. She knew that this was a comfort for him and her presence kept him grounded. She sat there on the side of the bed watching him and him looking back at her. She moved his bed into a half sitting position since he seemed more comfortable that way. She then leaned in toward Micky resting her head on his shoulder allowing him to hold her. She knew having her close would be a comfort to him. He eventually fell asleep as did she.

Over the next few days, he was discharged from the hospital with orders to take it easy for the next few weeks. Selene helped Micky into the Mercedes, this time taking extra care to make sure that he didn't do anything overly strenuous. Once he was in the seat, she placed his feet inside the car arranging them neatly in a natural position and adjusting his clothes. She had dressed him in lounge pants and a T-Shirt for the time being. The clothing slid around easily on the leather car seats therefore making it much easier for her to move him around if she needed to.

Once he was in the car, she strapped him in with the seatbelt and even reclined his seat slightly so that he would be in a more relaxed position. There wasn't much room in the two seater to recline the seat. If they had been in her Beretta, she could have laid the seat all the way back. That wasn't necesary though.

Selene drove them back to the rental on the beach and proceeded to help Micky transfer into his wheelchair. She didn't plan on letting him remain in the chair too long though. He needed to rest and take it easy so she was going to either make him sit in one of the recliners or use the bed rather than be upright in the wheelchair. She wanted to keep him as comfortable as possible.

He preferred the bedroom. It had a nice flat screen television on one wall, the master bath was nearby and there was that huge full panel window overlooking the ocean directly in front of the bed.

Selene had already collected a pile of pillows for him that she placed on the bed so that he could prop up comfortably. He had no idea that there were so many pillows in the place. Maybe she brought extras from home-he wasn't sure and he didn't remember. It wasn't important.

"Let's change you into something more comfortable." She said as she went to the closet and took out something Micky had never seen before. It was a pair of new PJs in black satin with a smoking jacket top. It looked quite elegant. He didn't usually wear things like that but he was sure she had a good reason for it.

"I got this set for you before we came down here. I knew that it might make it easier for you to move around in the bed." She said with a smile. The truth was that she also felt that he would look very handsome dressed in her choice of lounge wear.

In order for him to change clothes, he transferred to the bed. He found it much easier to get dressed if he sat on the bed with his legs in front of him. Selene helped him into this position and then began to help him undress. He could have probably managed this himself but he knew that she wanted to help so he let her. He lifted his arms so that she could pull off his shirt. She helped him also take off the pants, taking care to make sure she didn't rearrange his underwear in some sort of uncomfortable way in the process.

She slipped the satin pants back up his lower body without issue and then brought the smoking jacket over and held it so that he could slip his arms into it. She pulled it around his body and overlapped it in the front. There was a belt that came with it to be tied. She then took him by the shoulders and gently lowered him backward onto the pillows and stepped back to look at him.

"You look wonderful in that." She said. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I'm ok." He said "Just a little tired." He said, his whole upper body planted in the pile of pillows beneath him.

Selene smiled at him. "Are you comfy?" She asked.

"Yeah, actually this is quite nice." He told her, smiling back.

She preferred him to be in the center of the bed. "I'm going to move you a little bit before you get too comfortable." She told him, approaching the bed.

She was able to move him a lot easier with the satin clothing. He slid easily across the bed to the spot where she wanted him-right in the middle.

"There you go, now you won't be too close to the edge." She said as she sat down beside him on the bed handing him the TV remote from the nearby nightstand.

He took the remote and fidgeted with it in his hands for a few seconds before laying it aside on the bed then looked toward Selene. "Selene, darling, I know I've been difficult the last little bit but you've been there for me every minute of every day, all day and all night. I just wanted to let you know how much I still appreciate the fact that you're always there." He told her.

"Just the fact that you haven't left me yet tells me that you truly love me. I've had a hard time accepting love in its simplest form lately." He explained.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Your love is so genuine. It's pure. I haven't experienced that before with anyone else. It's special. We have something very special. I have something special in you. I just want you to know how important you are to me." He told her, reaching toward her to take her hand in his.

She moved closer to him. She hadn't pulled the covers up yet since it was fairly comfortable without covers. She put her bare feet under the covers next to his and slid closer to him. Eventually, he put his arm around her, pulled her in next to himself and kissed her on the head and wrapped his other arm around her too. She laid her head on his chest. The two of them remained there silent for a while.

Selene could hear his heartbeat. She knew it was beating for her. It was a slow rhythmic sound. Even though he had just come from the medical facility and somewhat still had that scent about him, he had somehow managed to smell good. He had his own scent that Selene loved. She nuzzled closer to him. The satin smoking jacket had come open near the top bearing his bare chest. Her hand slid through his chest hair and came to rest on the other side underneath the smoking jacket. Sometimes it was just nice to have him hold her.

They were both tired and eventually fell asleep. When Micky awoke, he could see the moon's reflection over the ocean through the windows at the foot of the bed. It looked like a white light on glass. It was perfectly dark outside except for the moon and stars. Selene remained snuggled into Micky just as she had been earlier. He looked at the clock and realized it had been a while since he had taken care of his personal needs. In his attempt to gently set Selene aside without waking her, he woke her. He hadn't known exactly how he was going to make it from the bed to his wheelchair since he would have to go over Selene to get there.

"What's going on?" She asked, groggily when she felt him moving around on the bed.

"Nothing, I'm fine love." He said. "Just need to take care of some things." He added, still trying to figure out how he was going to get to his wheelchair.

By this time, Selene had sat up in the bed and was fully alert. She knew what he meant. She also knew that he probably would want to be left alone to take care of his needs as well.

"Micky, would you like me to go get your supplies and bring them to you here or would you like to go take care of it in the bathroom?" She asked.

He stopped to think about what she had just asked him. He would be causing a lot of unnecessary moving if he opted to go to the bathroom. He could just as well take care of it anywhere he pleased.

"I think I'd just like if you'd bring me the supplies." He told her, not really wanting to move off the bed.

No sooner than the words came out, Selene had left and returned with his personal care supplies. She laid the handful of items on the bed where he could get them, not taking them out of the packaging or anything else that would insinuate that she was helping him with his personal needs. She knew he didn't prefer that. She turned to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Micky asked, a note of surprise in his voice.

She turned around to see a surprised look on his face to match the tone of voice.

"I was just going into the kitchen." She said, not really having any place to go or a reason to leave the bedroom.

Micky knew that she was leaving the room in an effort to give him privacy but at this point, he didn't really want her to leave. They had bonded even more during his hospital stay and he hadn't felt as self conscious about himself lately as he normally did.

"Stay in here with me." He finally blurted out as he picked up some of the supplies and began opening them.

She turned and came back into the room, sat on the side of the bed feeling just a little awkward about the whole situation and not really knowing what to do or say so she just kept quiet.

It wasn't like her to not ask to help or ask what she could do to help. It didn't go unnoticed. As he prepared to use the catheter, he asked her "so, did you want to help?" with a grin on his face, clearly trying to break the ice on the whole issue of personal care. He felt it was time. He could share this with her and she wouldn't find it appalling.

"Sure, I mean if you want help or something." She said with a slight stutter.

"What would you like me to do?" She asked timidly.

He had already managed to start emptying his bladder into a urine bag which temporarily went unnoticed by Selene because he had gotten so good at it.

"Just talk to me." He said. "From here, we just wait."

This was a different experience. He didn't make it weird for her at all. In fact, it was pretty normal. She was just there, she knew what he was doing but it wasn't a major deal for either of them.

"Is it ok if I sit there?" she said indicating that she wanted to be closer to him and snuggle with him the way she had earlier. He smiled.

"Sure honey. Come on over." He said as he cleared away some of the wrappers from the supplies he was using and extended his arm toward her. He took her in close to his body when she got close enough for him to sweep her up in his arms.

At some point, he had pulled the covers up to his waist. The entirety of his personal care was covered and no one would have ever known what was going on.

Selene let her arm lay across Micky's stomach. He was feeling quite firm and toned.

"See, this isn't so bad." He told her.

"No, no its not." She said, looking up at him and then kissing him lightly.

Once he was finished, he let Selene know that he needed to move again. She sat up on the bed so that he could take care of himself. He packed everything back into the packaging it came out of and stuffed it back into the larger box.

"Would you mind taking care of this." He asked Selene indicating the box needing to go back to the bathroom and things needing disposal.

"Of course not." She said, taking the box and everything inside back to the bathroom where she disposed of everything.

She was feeling especially cherished at the moment since Micky had allowed her to be involved in something he previously had not wanted her around for. She returned to the bed, pulled the covers up over both of them and wrapped her arms around him once again.

"Goodnight my sweet love." She said, looking up to kiss him. Their lips met in the moonlit room in what turned out to be a slow, warm, sweet kiss.


	40. Chapter 40

The Man Next Door

Chapter 40

The waves rippled in and out catching the bright morning sun on every peak causing the ocean to shimmer like diamonds. The tide had come in overnight and went back down leaving the beach full of shells and things that had washed up on shore.

Selene woke up to the muted sounds of the ocean outside. This was a pleasant and relaxing way to wake up. Micky was still fast asleep on his pile of pillows from the night before. He looked restful just at that moment. She hadn't seen that relaxed expression on his face in a really long time. She resolved to let him sleep. Sleep was good for recovery. He had been having a rough last several days.

She slipped out of the king size bed and went into the sitting room closing the door behind her so that she wouldn't disturb Micky.

As the morning went on, Selene prepared a small variety of foods for breakfast. It was still yet early. She had sliced some fruit, got out a bowl of cottage cheese and some tea as well as toast. Breakfast selections remained minimal because she had not went shopping for food since they arrived. She would be doing that soon though after they figured out how long they would be staying for Micky's recovery.

Leaving the food out on the countertop on a tray, she returned to the bedroom to check in on Micky. He was still sleeping. She decided to leave him alone for a while longer and returned to the kitchen to eat her portion of the breakfast she had prepared. After she finished eating, she went to the living room to channel surf the television. She found some American channels that she watched for a little while.

She heard movement coming from the bedroom and knew Micky was awake. She clicked the television off and went back to the bedroom. Micky had just woke up.

"Good morning Sunshine." He said to her as she appeared in the doorway.

"Are you ready for your breakfast?" She asked him happily, flashing him a smile that could light up the darkness of the world.

He nodded.

Selene left and returned with the breakfast tray she had prepared earlier and placed it on his lap taking a seat beside him on the bed and fluffing his pillows at the same time.

"Thanks babe." He said

She hugged him loosely.

As he ate the food, they discussed plans for the day.

"I think I'd like to go down to the beach today for a little while." Micky said as he took another piece of toast and stuck it in his mouth.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to that already?" Selene asked him.

"Yeah, I think it will be ok. I'll take it easy. I just want to get outside." He indicated.

"Gets pretty mundane here in this bed." He finally admitted. "And the beach is beautiful here. It would be a shame not to enjoy it while we are here." he added.

Selene wasn't sure that he was actually up to moving around and going down to the beach but what could it possibly hurt? He would just be sitting in a different place for a while. She convinced herself that it should be alright and proceeded to clean up breakfast.

"I'll be back to help you get changed." She told him, leaving the room with the tray.

He knew she meant well so he waited for her patiently to return and help him get dressed. She really didn't want him to do anything against doctor's orders and wanted to make sure that he was healing properly. It wasn't long before she returned to the bedroom and picked out some outfits from the closet. One consisted of a pair of kakhi shorts and a polo shirt while the other consisted of denim shorts and a tank top. Micky picked the tank top and denim.

The outfit was laid out neatly on the bottom of the bed.

"I think we should check your incision before we get you dressed." Selene said. "It might need to be fixed up again."

Micky agreed. He hadn't seen it since it was on his lower back where he couldn't look at it. It was in these cases he was really glad that he did have Selene to keep things in order for him. She helped him out of the silk smoking jacket and then he rolled over on his side. She peeled the bandage off revealing a small incision on his lower back. It still looked slightly puffy but overall was healing nicely with no sign of infection.

"Does it look ok?" Micky asked.

"Yeah, it looks great actually."

Micky was still feeling that he smelled like a hospital. "I think I'd like to take a shower before I get dressed." he told her.

"Sure, I'll get the stuff out for you." She said, heading toward the bathroom. She turned on the water so it would be warm.

She returned just a few minutes later with his wheelchair, helped him undress and then helped him into it then into the accessible shower. The water was perfect. Sometimes he loved just sitting there letting it run all over his body.

Micky had secretly hoped that Selene would help him shower as well and things would turn steamy. He had been missing her the last couple of days in that way.

"Hey, Selene do you want to help me wash my back?" He said innocently. He knew full well that she would help him and that it would turn into a very steamy shower shortly thereafter.

Selene smiled at the opportunity and decided to undress herself and meet him in the shower. This shower was larger than the one they had at their home. It had enough room so that two people could easily fit inside and she could walk around his shower chair front to back.

He looked at her and grinned when she opened the door stepping into the shower with him. This was what he wanted. Selene, naked in a steamy shower with her hands all over his body.

She approached him, took his washcloth and soap, kissed him on the cheek from behind and prepared to lather his back, taking special care not to damage his incision and wash around it. She then rinsed him just as carefully and moved around in front of him.

At this point, he was already getting a boner that was evident. Selene, at this point, was giving him a nude lap dance as she hovered her beautiful naked body just slightly over top of his, barely grazing his lap at times. This was hot. He was loving every minute of it. His hands came up around her beginning at her hips, sliding around her bottom and then up her sides finding her breasts. He loved her breasts as well as everything else about her but she had especially nice breasts. It didn't take him long to make her nipples hard. She had, up to this point, been sliding her hands all up and down his torso. She tried to make sure that she kept most of her physical contact above the waist so that he could feel it even though she occasionally dropped below the line of sensation for her own pleasure. He didn't mind.

His boner was getting larger. Selene was ready to take him. She wanted him badly and was throbbing at this point. In one smooth move, she put him inside of her and lowered herself down taking all of him in as deep as she could go. She was taking great care not to be rough or make sudden movements, still taking his recovery into consideration. He was mostly stationery on the shower chair.

"Oh my God!" He said as he let the wave of passion fall over him. Selene continued and felt him getting harder and larger inside of her with every move. She kissed him every opportunity she got, ran her fingers up the back of his neck and all over his upper body and even rubbed her breasts over his lips several times. She knew he loved that. She could feel his breath on her skin as he reached climax and his breathing became heavier.

"Keep going, babe..." He begged until he finally finished.

Selene moved off of him and let herself sink down to the shower floor to relax after their intimate lovemaking. She needed to catch her breath.

"That was fantastic." She said. "Was it good for you?" She asked.

Micky looked at her, still a bit flushed from the incident and responded "It's always great with you."

After a few minutes, Micky finished with his shower. Selene cleaned up as well. The whole time they were in the shower, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They had a very hot and passionate relationship when it came down to just the two of them.

Once they had finished, Selene helped Micky dry off and then back into his wheelchair while she dressed herself and then returned to help him dress. He mostly dressed himself though while she watched. She liked watching. He had come to enjoy it when she watched as well.

He looked great in his denim shorts and tank top. Selene got the beach bag ready and headed out with Micky for the beach buggy helping him transfer into it and making sure he was comfortable.

"Let me know if you start hurting so we can come back and get you into the bed and more comfortable." She told him on their way down to the beach.

He smiled and nodded letting her know he would.

She pushed him down near the water's edge. There was still lots of things on the private beach that had washed up during high tide the evening before. Lots of little shells, stones and sharks teeth among other stuff. The two of them had a wonderful time combing the beach for interesting treasures from the sea in the area immediately in front of their rental. It was nice to be able to go down to a private beach and pick up all of the things not having to share them with anyone else who might be visiting the beach at the same time. That was the beauty in having a private beach.

The sand was a beautiful white color and the water became a crystal blue midday when the sun was directly overhead. This was different than the beaches Selene remembered from her childhood back on the East Coast in North Carolina and South Carolina. Back on the East Coast, the beaches consisted of brown sand and water that wasn't this pretty crystal blue. There didn't seem to be as many pretty shells either on the other side.

She continued to push Micky in the beach buggy along the shoreline for a while. He would occasionally pick something up off of the sand and put it in his pocket. Eventually, they found a spot on the beach they liked near the waterline and Selene spread out a blanket for them.

Micky carefully transferred himself out of the beach buggy down onto the blanket on the sand. The sand was warm underneath the blanket and felt great. He loved the way sand under a beach blanket felt. Selene had thought of everything. She had also brought along a couple of pillows for him to prop up with for comfort.

"You look a little red there honey." Micky said, noticing the slight sunburn on Selene's shoulders because she didn't normally wear tank tops and that part of her body wasn't as tanned as the rest of her.

"I brought some lotion." She told him, something in her voice beckoning him to apply it to her. She handed it to him from the beach buggy. He moved his legs slightly and indicated for her to sit between them.

Sitting between his legs was one of her favorite places. She felt completely surrounded by Micky. It was a safe, comforting place for her. He applied the lotion to her shoulders first and then the rest of her exposed body. Today that only consisted of her arms and legs since they hadn't worn bathing suits. When he was finished, she took the lotion from him.

"My turn, cowboy." She said happily as she turned and began applying the sunscreen to him.

While she was rubbing the lotion into his skin, she noticed that he seemed to be lost in thought about something.

"What are you thinking about, honey." She asked him.

This brought him back to that moment in time. "Oh, just thinking about earlier...in the shower." He said, smiling.

She continued applying lotion, at this point to the back of his neck. "What about this morning in the shower?" She inquired.

He paused for a moment and then began to speak. "Well, I was just wondering if we could try it again later tonight." He said abruptly.

Selene giggled a little bit and came around so that she could look him in the face. "Try it again? We can try it as many times as you'd like." She told him, not wanting to deprive him or herself of these moments of passion.

"No, babe, you don't understand. I think I was beginning to feel it earlier in the shower. I felt you." He said. "I just wanted to be sure." he continued.

They both stopped, looking at each other. Selene's lips parted in surprise.

"You...can feel sex now?" She asked him.

He reached out to cuddle her before he answered.

"I don't know yet. I need to try it again and really concentrate on things...It's strange. It isn't like a normal sensation. It's different but I think I felt something earlier. That's why I told you to keep going." He said.

Selene hadn't thought much about it at the time but now that he mentioned it, that was odd that he told her to keep going. She should have known there was a reason he asked her to do that. Now she felt like she missed something important. This was great though if he was beginning to have sensation below the waist. This was a great sign that his procedure was working. Selene didn't want to get their hopes up too quickly though, therefore they would take things one day at a time.

A few hours later, after they returned back to the rental, Micky had taken a place on the couch, put his feet up and was watching television while Selene was planning on visiting the nearby town to see what they had to offer. She hadn't mentioned that to Micky just yet. When she did, he didn't want her to go alone. She decided to put it off a day or two until she felt that he was up to going out for a little while.

Instead, she made some sandwiches and brought them into the living room with drinks and joined Micky on the couch allowing him to rest his legs across her lap.

There wasn't anything of any particular interest on the television. Just the usual mundane stuff they were used to back home except this was mostly in Spanish.

Selene's hand ended up resting across Micky's legs. She had a habit of fidgeting with whatever was nearby. At this particular moment, it was his feet. She seemed to like his toes because she had done this thing before where she massaged his feet out of habit rather than consciously. This time, he was noticing that he could feel the pressure every now and again.

The more she squeezed, the more he noticed that the feeling was returning. It was amazing. Just days earlier, he none of this sensation in his toes. Now he could somewhat feel her touching him.

"Selene, baby..." He said, a tone of seriousness and happiness in his voice. "I can feel you touching my toes." He told her in a slow and reserved tone. "I think it's working." he said with increasing excitement.

Her face lit up as her attention diverted immediately from the television screen to his face.

"Are you serious?" She asked him, beginning to look at his feet and then at the rest of him wondering how much more he may be able to feel.

"Yeah...it isn't like normal touch feeling though, I can just feel the pressure and some of the sensation of you touching me." He explained. "It's like it's there but it isn't fully there yet." He told her.

Selene managed to move in closer to where Micky was sitting on the couch and found herself holding him in a tight hug, her face in his chest and eventually she couldn't hold back her tears of happiness any longer. He hadn't been expecting this from her. He quietly returned the embrace, hugging her into his chest, his chin on her head. He knew at that point that she would love him no matter what happened and she would love him the same, if not more if he were to regain his ability to function below the waist.

He held her for quite a while, turning the television off at some point. She loved the way his arms felt around her-all around her- like that. She loved being surrounded by him. His scent was tantalizing and comforting at the same time. She found herself hungry for him again...

"Micky, I want you so bad right now." She finally mumbled to him as she looked up into his brown eyes. Without saying a word, he obliged her. She moved out of the way so he could transfer into his wheelchair and they went to the bedroom where he had her sit on the bed while he undressed her, his calloused hands caressing her body in all the right places. Once she was completely nude, she crawled up onto the king size bed and beckoned him to join her. She undressed him in the same manner he had so delicately undressed her, making sure he was in a comfortable position before she took him.

She begun by kissing him on the lips several times and at the same time, she let her hand slide below the waistline. His hands were already busy with her body. Her body was screaming for his. When she felt he was satisfactorily hard, she took him inside of her and began a very fluid and rhythmic motion that not only felt great, but looked incredible from his point of view. He was reclined on the usual pile of pillows but he could see her body in silhouette each time she would move up and down in the space between them which was back lit by the sun's rays sinking lower into the sea through the gauzy curtains on the panel window at the bottom of the bed. She made sex appear artful. The room was bright, the tone cast on her skin was nothing short of gorgeous. He could feel himself inside of her. There it was again, the physical sensation of the two of them making love. With each thrust, he could feel a little more. He wasn't sure if it was in his mind or if it was actually happening. He hadn't felt this sensation in quite a while and entertained for a split second the idea that he was imagining it but no, he was sure it was the real thing. He had to keep her going.

"Oh God, it feels good." he said in a pleasured tone as his head fell back on the pillows and he fully submitted to his wife giving in to his passions and whatever feelings he could gather. He was breathing heavily, his heart was pounding like thunder inside his body, he could feel the energy pulsing through him as she rode him hard. The tears came even though he was trying hard to hold them back and streamed down the sides of his face onto the pillows below.

He felt the climax and release. His body jolted just a little with that.

Her hands came to a rest on his chest as she ran her fingers through his chest hair and up to his shoulders, laying down on him.

"Was that good for you?" She said, in a sweet tone that he absolutely adored.

"Yes, yes darling it was." He said, realizing that she had never pulled him out of her.

He had a golden opportunity. Without hesitation, he found a second wind and in one swift motion, he caught Selene's slim body in one arm, rolled her onto her back and managed to land on top, still remaining inside of her and oddly enough, still hard.

"Oh yes!" She said as her face lit up with excitement. "I love it when you're on top!" She told him, smiling.

He started by licking her nipples. He had to be cleaver about being on top because he required the support of his hands and arms to remain on top and control his movements. He employed his mouth quite a bit in these endeavors.

Without missing a beat, she used her foot to move his legs into a better position sliding his left leg across the bed then wrapping her leg around his.

As he moved himself up and down, he realized that he somewhat felt the presence of her leg around his. Once again, he could feel bits and pieces of the sensation of himself being inside of her and with each thrust the physical sensation of pleasure.

She moaned in pleasure as he gently nibbled her right nipple then moved to her left as he continued his up and down motion. He eventually pulled himself toward her going in deeper and hitting her G spot which finished her. She was now spent and laid back on the pile of pillows looking totally ravished, her face flushed and a look of complete contentment on her face. He loved seeing that particular expression especially following sex. It made him feel like he was somewhat the man he wanted to be for her.

He rolled off her. They both lay on the bed naked, the sun going down casting its orange and red glow into the room. He took her hand in his and eventually brought it up to his lips gently kissing it then moving to the inside of her wrist.

"That was great for me." He told her through kisses and heavy breathing.

"You felt it didn't you?" She said in a pleased tone, turning toward him and knowing she had been the first sexual sensation he had felt and enjoyed in quite a while.

Laying on his side his arm across her, he found that he didn't have any words for what he felt.

He didn't respond for a few seconds then finally the words started coming out.

"It was like the first time." He began. "I felt it and it was one of the most beautiful feelings I have ever experienced."

Selene knew she wasn't his first by a long shot but she knew she would be his last. He had been her first but this time was like the first time all over again because he had been able to experience some of the physical sensation of her body and her love for him for which he had previously only experienced an emotional sensation.

"Your body is beautiful, Selene." He told her. "And I loved that you wrapped your leg around mine." He kept describing every single thing that he felt during the experience as though he was trying to make sure he didn't forget what it felt like just in case he didn't feel it again. He wanted to always remember this occasion with his beloved wife. The first time he was able to physically feel her making love to him. In that moment, he would have been content to settle for that much sensation. It had been so meaningful to him. She had made his life so worthwhile in the short time she had been part of it.


	41. Chapter 41

The Man Next Door

Chapter 41

The weather had been absolutely gorgeous for the most part during their stay at the rental property in Bahía Kino. Two weeks had passed since Micky's procedure and he was recovering exceptionally well. He had been given permission from the doctor to begin therapy activities. Some sensation had returned and stayed. He now had sensation of touch that didn't come and go. It had been pretty consistent. Along with regaining some of the sensation in his lower body, he had also experienced some high levels of pain for which he refused to take any medication beyond that which Selene prepared and gave to him due to his fear that stemmed from his previous addiction issues.

He was truly afraid that if he partook in any medication for pain that he would trigger his addiction again, that it would spiral out of control and he would end up losing Selene. He couldn't bear that much pain. He didn't want to even think about it. He remembered the split second back at the hotel room on their trip to look at the house when he walked into the room to find her with Trevor. The remembrance of that still hurt him even though he knew what she was doing and that she was doing it as part of a strategy to save her own life, not out of any desire she had for him. He knew that wasn't there nor would it ever be. Whatever the case, he realized more than anything that he did not want to lose her from his life.

He continued daily making progress with his therapy program. There was a therapy gym at the medical facility where he had Selene drop him off daily for his routine. He had told her to use this time to go out and see some sights, enjoy the local stuff. Although she really wanted to be there for him, she took him up on that offer and had seen lots of really amazing things and visited some really interesting places that Bahía Kino had to offer. She was planning on returning to a few of those places with Micky before they returned back to Phoenix. She didn't want to have all the fun while he was doing therapy for several hours a day.

They had spent time every day on the beautiful private beach that was part of their rental. It was a gorgeous view of the ocean, they could comb the beach. In fact, they already had a bag of shells that they had found and were taking home with them. Selene's personal favorite was sitting on the beach with Micky holding her watching the waves go in and out, their peaks glossed by the fiery sunsets that happened daily. On one special occasion, they had taken some food down to the beach for a picnic. She wanted to do that again before they left.

Micky was still primarily using his wheelchair to get around but they were both excited that he had gained some sensation back that he had lost. This was a great sign and had a positive impact on his life. Selene could see a change in his personality for the better. He was happy in general without her having to make him happy. It also didn't go unnoticed that he was beginning to tone up a bit more as well. This was probably due to all of the work he was putting in on therapy. He wasn't wasting a moment of his time at the therapy center.

Selene pulled the car around at the therapy center. It was time for Micky to be finished with his program. Just as the black Mercedes pulled up to the drive around at the door, she saw him coming toward the door for the car. She put the car in park, popped the trunk and got out preparing to help him into the car and put the chair away.

"Have a nice therapy session today, love?" She asked him as he transferred into the car and she took the chair away. The top was down.

"Yeah, it went really well." He told her as he began checking out the radio. The car had satellite radio so they could listen to their usual stations from the US as well as put it on the local bands and check that out too.

"So, there's this place I found near where we are staying that I thought you might like to visit before we go home." She told him. "It's a restaurant." she added.

"You know I'd go anywhere with you, babe" He said, looking at her overtop of his dark aviator sun glasses.

They were quiet for a moment and then he began "There's this song that we done in the eighties that I'm thinking about re-recording when we get back." He said. "Actually, you are the reason I want to record it again-for you." He finally told her.

"Tell me about it." Selene asked as the black car cruised down the road.

"It's called I'd Go The Whole Wide World." He said "And it was a really good song when we came out with it but we didn't have a hit from it. I just like the song and it really fits here." He said. "It fits us."

She smiled.

"Go for it. I can't wait." She told him. She liked to encourage him when he was in the mood to do things like that she knew he had previously enjoyed before the accident. She was beginning to see him come up with more of these activities lately. She viewed it as a good sign that things were getting better for him, that he had hope and that he was happy.

On returning home, Selene realized that if they stayed there another few days, Micky would have a birthday. She really wanted to do something special for him on his birthday. She would have to make a trip to the local market and pick up some things. She still had plenty of time for that. Tonight, she was taking him out on the town for dinner and possibly other activities depending on what they could find. He really hadn't had the opportunity to get out and about much on this trip and she wanted him to be able to enjoy some of it before they returned home.

Later that evening, they were preparing to go out for dinner at an upscale restaurant. It seemed that they were visiting a lot of those lately. Micky enjoyed upscale dining experiences. Selene hadn't had too many of those until she met him. It just wasn't her style. She was becoming quite accustomed to it though.

She decided to wear a sleek black dress and top with a scoop neck. She wore a silver charm on a matching sterling silver chain that dangled just above her breasts. Her hair was swept up in an up do with a few strands elegantly framing her face.

Micky had dressed in his black suit and fedora. He looked absolutely handsome. His cufflinks caught the light and twinkled as he pulled on his jacket over his white shirt.

He went back into the kitchen while Selene put the finishing touches on herself for the evening. He had obtained a single red long stem rose from a local flower vendor earlier that he had secretly stored in the refrigerator for the occasion along with a matching corsage. He placed both in his lap and returned to the bedroom to wait for her to exit the master bath.

The door slowly opened and the light turned off as she stepped out. Micky's mouth gaped open for a split second in awe of her beauty but then he caught up with himself and checked his expression.

"What do you have there?" She asked him as she walked closer to him.

He picked up the long stem rose and reached it out toward her.

"A red rose for my lady." He said, smiling.

She took it, smelled it thanked him for it. "It's beautiful. I remember the last time I got roses from you." She told him with an affectionate look of remembrance on her face.

He picked up the corsage from its plastic container, set the container aside and motioned for her to sit down on his lap. Once she was on his lap, he took her hand in his and placed the corsage on her wrist, securing it, kissing her gently on the lips and then ending with a kiss on her hand.

"It looks beautiful on you, honey." He told her, his lips still close to hers. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"You look great tonight too, you know." She whispered in his ear before getting up and heading to the car.

It was just beginning to get dark when the Mercedes pulled up to the valet area of the restaurant. Selene quickly exited the car, fetched the wheelchair from the trunk and got Micky into it then handed the keys over so that the car could be parked. The front entrance featured quite a bit of ambient lighting.

"I feel like I'm back on the Hollywood red carpet." Micky said as they approached the large set of double doors.

"It's pretty flashy." Selene admitted as she opened the door for him to go through and followed behind him.

The place opened up into a chic, elegant dining room that featured several different types of seating. There were booths, a bar and tables available, all with their own ambient lighting. The decor was absolutely stunning. There were plants strategically placed for dining privacy.

Micky requested a private corner booth for two. This was an odd request for someone using a wheelchair considering that they usually found it easier to just roll up to a table. The waiter complied without question. Selene briefly gave Micky an odd look but then followed him without asking questions. She had learned over the course of their relationship when he had taken initiative to do something or request something specific, it was always purpose driven.

They were directed to a private half circle booth exactly as Micky had requested. It was in a corner, off to its self surrounded by lots of tropical greenery, twinkle lights and even a lantern on the table that gave off the most beautiful glow.

Menus were already on the table. The waiter took the extras off the table as well as the extra silverware leaving only two of each.

"I'll take your orders in a bit." The waiter said as he left to tend another table.

Micky motioned for Selene to sit. She slid into the booth sliding enough so that there was plenty of room for Micky to join her as well. He did in fact slide in beside her but before he scooted over, he rolled the chair slightly behind where they were sitting out of the way.

She could feel his body heat against her skin. It felt good. The restaurant was air conditioned. He removed his hat and sat it on the seat beside them and then proceeded to slip his arm around Selene's bare shoulders prompting her to lean slightly into him while he picked up one of the menus with his other hand and opened it so that they could both look at it.

"Anything you like." he said as he glanced through the offering of items.

Most of the food offered was local specialties. They were both particularly fans of Mexican fare so they decided to order a fancy Baja style plate.

The waiter returned and took their order also bringing around glasses of water for the table while they waited for their food order and drinks to come out. Micky decided to order a whiskey sour. He hadn't had one in quite a while. Selene decided to go for a virgin daiquiri since she was driving and didn't often drink in the first place.

The drinks came out before the food did. Micky still continued to cuddle Selene and take full advantage of the half circle booth they were sitting in. He loved being this close to her and offered her a sip of his whiskey sour. She accepted and took a just a small taste of it. She had never had this before and made quite a face but managed to swallow it then promptly chased it with her water.

Micky couldn't help but smile at her reaction. Even if she didn't particularly like it, she was still cute not liking it. He made short work of the drink and sat the empty glass down on the table after finishing it off.

Selene smiled at him somewhat astonished that he was able to consume the whiskey sour that quickly. He hadn't really drank while they had been together. This was a onetime thing. She wondered what he would be like if he got tipsy.

"So, tell me how you are when you're tipsy." She asked in a playful tone taking a sip of her virgin frozen drink and shifting her eyes toward Micky.

He hadn't really thought about that in a while. "I used to drink to mellow out. I'm pretty mellow I guess." He finally told her.

"Well, at least you're not a mean drunk." She joked.

"I would never get that drunk and be mean to you." He assured her and nuzzled her a bit. For a brief moment he felt bad about having the whiskey sour.

The food came out. Two sizzling plates were placed on the table in front of them along with some other side items . It looked wonderful.

"This looks great, shall we?" Selene said indicating the food.

As expected, the food was delightful. It was one of the more memorable meals they had shared. The evening had turned out to be a nice quiet one even though the place was busy all around them. They had their little corner to all to themselves. The glow from the neon lights across the room at the bar could be seen reflecting off of a variety of shiny objects across the venue. It was somewhat playful the way the light refracted around the room yet masterful in design.

Micky scooped up some sauce on a chip and popped it into his mouth. He seemed to really like the smoky chipotle sauce that the majority of the food was smothered in.

They sat there for what seemed like a long time chatting about different things. Random things. Micky finally took her hand in his, wove his fingers through hers and gently leaned over to steal a kiss. She had a special way of melting him and she didn't have to do anything at all.

"I can't wait to marry you again." He said in her ear. "It's going to be wonderful." He added.

This came out of nowhere. They really hadn't discussed the topic of their second wedding since they had recently been dealing with Micky's stem cell procedure. This was a welcome surprise.

"Where would you like to honeymoon?" He asked her before she could say anything else.

This took her by complete surprise. She hadn't really given that any thought at all. She had only worked out some of the details of the wedding they would have sometime in the future.

"Well, I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it a lot." She told him after a brief pause to think about it. "You're a worldly and well traveled man. Do you have any recommendations?" She asked.

"Honey, I've been to lots of places around the world and travelled most of my life but there's never been a place that I could say was completely beautiful. The world is only a beautiful place when you enjoy it with the one you love. Every place is beautiful with you and it doesn't matter where we are as long as we are together. If we are there together, we will enjoy it." he told her, still holding her hand in his.

She blushed.

"Cruises are nice though." He added.

She had never been on a cruise or even travelled outside the United States until this particular trip.

"I think a cruise would be a nice change. I've never done that before. It would be new for me."

Micky smiled. "Cruises are really nice. It's been a long time since I've done one though." he told her.

The check came to the table. Micky picked it up and whipped out his credit card just as he always had done when they went out to eat. He was not about to Let Selene pay for one thing even if it was using the same credit card as a matter of principle when she was out with him.

Once they returned to the car and they were back on the main road heading toward their rental, Micky's hand somehow landed on her thigh and began sliding up toward her hip. He squeezed her thigh slightly. She glanced over at him and saw the smile across his face for just a brief moment as they passed under a street light. He looked like a sly handsome devil just then.

On a whim, Selene whipped the car around off the main road into a secluded area, shut it off and crawled over the console onto Micky's lap.

"How about I do you right here?" She said, leaning in close to his face so that he could almost touch her lips but not quite.

He loved these random surprises from her. He found it extremely hot when she behaved like this toward him. It didn't come out often but when it did, it was a welcome change.

"You can do me anywhere you want any way you like." he told her as he slid one hand up under her shirt to fondle her breasts and the other loosely around her hips. She quickly and effortlessly unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it out of his pants and then undone his pants. The car was small and didn't provide much room to move around but she had been known to get the job done in a confined space before.

He continued squeezing her breasts and letting his hands wander up and down her torso and at one point up her skirt. He managed to remove her underwear in one slick move and discard it in the driver's seat. With that, he returned his hand up her skirt and let his magic fingers do their thing until she was throbbing. He had managed to get himself out as well and glided into Selene under her skirt which was pushed up to her hips at this point. Her knees rested on the sides of the leather seat and allowed her to move up and down slightly while gyrating.

It was hot and fast. Just like a flash in the night, it was a quickie. She brought him to climax, kissed him deeply a few times and then hopped back over in the driver side of the car smiling at him the whole time.

When they returned home, his clothes were still slightly disheveled from the earlier event. He didn't recall Selene ever putting her underwear back on when she got off his lap. It was with that recollection that he managed to playfully catch her off guard and pull her onto his lap into a fiery kiss after which he sat her up on the bed, got onto the bed himself, undressing in the process and proceeded to continue the episode that took place in the car only a few minutes earlier. He crawled across her on the bed making sure she was comfortable first and then entering her. He had pulled her shirt off and unhooked her bra exposing her breasts. The silver charm was the only thing she was wearing up top and he found it extremely sexy.

He slid in and out of her in a fluid motion until she began to moan in pleasure clutching his butt in her hands, squeezing with his every thrust into her until she finished and sank into the pile of pillows on the bed.

Micky rolled off her and came to a rest beside of her. He was worn out as well but it had been wonderful for both of them.

"Damn, you were good." She finally said after she caught her breath.

He smiled. He truly felt for the first time in a long time he was getting his mojo back. He felt masculine and was becoming whole again. Selene's love and affection had a lot to do with that but so did the fact that he knew he had satisfied her.


	42. Chapter 42

Selene intentionally woke up early. It was Micky's birthday. She had planned on doing something special for him before they headed back to Arizona. Mexico had been beautiful. The first light had not yet made it into the bedroom. It was still dark outside. Micky was adorable when he was sleeping. Selene couldn't resist lightly kissing his forehead and then pushing a few stray hairs off his face before she quietly left the bed and began to prepare for Micky's special day.

First on her list of things to do before Micky woke up was his breakfast in bed. She had planned on making a meal that he had previously indicated he was genuinely fond of but didn't get enjoy too often-homemade pancakes. She had managed to gather all of the ingredients previously on one of her visits to a local market along with other items for the rest of the day's plans. She had purchased a sweet birthday card for him that she would put on his breakfast tray as well as a gift for later.

She effortlessly prepared the pancakes and turned them out on the plate in a tall stack. She made another shorter stack for herself. She also prepared fruit on the side, added syrup in a small container for dipping and made coffee from the locally ground coffee beans she had purchased at the market. That local market nearby had been something that had caught her interest. She had always been fond of trying the local fare when visiting new places. This gave her the perfect opportunity to indulge.

She had prepared some items the evening before for a quick picnic meal on the beach and a romantic evening thereafter.

Once breakfast was arranged perfectly on the tray with her birthday card for Micky, she delivered it to the bedroom. He was still sleeping but was quickly awakened by Selene's presence. She gently kissed him on the lips until he opened his eyes. She had set the tray aside temporarily. He responded by wrapping his arms around her, holding her close and kissing her a few times on the lips and cheek.

"Happy birthday, honey." She whispered in his ear just before she pulled away to fetch the breakfast tray. She still had on her slinky silky PJs and found it easy to slide across the huge king size bed.

Micky smiled, genuinely happy with the pancakes and that she remembered his birthday. He had actually lost track of time and forgotten that it was his birthday. He knew it was coming up soon but it had slipped his mind with everything else that was going on. He had been having a lot to think about lately.

He saw the card first and took it out of the envelope. It read "Happy birthday to my one true love." and was signed "S" with a cute little heart around it and a note below that said "More fun to come later!"

He looked up from the card and smiled that devilish grin of his that made him irresistible.

"Thanks babe but you shouldn't have done all of this." He said cutting into his stack of buttered pancakes and dipping a bite into the syrup

"I hope this second plate means you're going to be joining me." He said before popping the fluffy pancake bite into his mouth.

"That's what I'd like for my birthday." He said, again smiling in between bites. She crawled over next to him.

"Oh, I have so much more planned for you today, love. You just have no idea!" She teased.

Micky had already cut off a piece of the pancake on the other plate to feed her. She accepted the food with a smile. They stayed in the bed cuddled and eating Selene's pancakes for quite a while. The sunrise had been beautiful through the large floor-to-ceiling windows the room featured.

Before either of them moved from the bed, the topic came up of the day's activities. Selene wasn't going to tell him exactly what she had planned. She wanted it to be a complete surprise. She just told him to dress comfortably for a day at the beach. That was all.

He didn't question it but rather done exactly as she had requested. She, likewise, also dressed for a day at the beach.

Once Micky came out of the bedroom into the living room after finishing his morning routine, he saw that Selene was all packed and ready to go. She had a basket packed, a small backpack with other items in it and a camera.

She was patiently waiting for him. Once he was ready, he got into the beach buggy so that he could access the beach without issue. Selene pushed him down the beach for quite a way before she settled on a spot that was situated on a small crescent looking out over the ocean. There were mounds of untouched white sand all around. It was evident that not too many people had been through the area in quite a while. It was extremely private. Just Micky and Selene and a bunch of white sand that seemed to go on undisturbed for an endless number of miles into infinity and then there was the ocean.

She took out the beach blanket and the pop up cabana, set them up on the beach and then put the basket and other items down on the blanket.

"I thought we could just spend the day hanging out on the beach." She told him. "And I like this spot." She added.

It was truly a beautiful spot she had picked out. From this angle, you could see the ocean and look back up the beach at the landscape. Micky took a particular liking to this idea as well and quickly managed to get out of the buggy and into the cabana with Selene.

"Come here to me." She said, motioning him even closer to her. She wanted him to lay his head in her lap. She had enjoyed that back in Beavertown as well as their spontaneous play wrestling.

He moved so that his head was in her lap taking off the hat he had worn and laying it aside. Selene picked it up and put it on her head. She liked his hats. This one was one of his straw cowboy hats that he wore around the house when he was being casual or doing yard work.

"Cowgirl up." He said when she set the hat atop her head like a pro. This got a smile out of him. She could see her reflection in his aviator sun glasses.

As he lay there, she told him how much she loved him, how wonderful he was, talked about the beautiful trip they were on and ran her fingers through his hair. The fingers in his hair was particularly soothing and relaxing. He loved that. He would never grow tired of the sensation he got whenever she ran her fingers through his hair lightly grazing his scalp with every pass of her fingernails. It was very satisfying and calming.

The weather was perfect, skies were blue and he had enjoyed watching the white puffy clouds pass over the ocean until he became so relaxed that he closed his eyes briefly just basking in the warm indirect sunlight and Selene's touch. He could feel the warm sand underneath the pop up beach cabana conforming to his body. It was one of the most comfortable feelings he had experienced in a long time.

She had brought along some sunscreen partly because she didn't want to get burned but mostly because she enjoyed applying it to Micky's body and letting him apply it to hers. That had become a favorite pastime of theirs at the beach. It was also a huge turn on. His touch on her body had always felt different than anyone else's in a wonderful, good, clean, pure and loving way.

She took out the sun screen and set it aside on the blanket. Her eyes met his then dropped back to the sunscreen sitting on the blanket and shot back up to him again as she cracked a smile.

"Wanna take off your shirt?" She asked Micky. "I brought sunscreen" she added, flashing him a sexy smile once again.

Without hesitation, he took off his shirt in a swift, one handed motion. He knew what was coming. Selene picked up the bottle of Coppertone and squirted some in her hands. Micky returned to his position with his head in her lap. She couldn't help but get all aflutter when he removed his shirt with that one handed motion. She found that extremely hot and attractive

"Lotion me, baby!" He said in a tone that let her know he was thoroughly enjoying their day alone at the beach so far. She began by gently massaging the lotion into his chest then moving to his shoulders and neck. From there, she added some more to her hand and rubbed his stomach all the way down to his waist.

He nonchalantly reached over and unbuttoned his shorts so that she could reach a little lower as her hands slipped across his stomach and around his sides rubbing in the remainder of the lotion. Her hands were soft. He loved the way her hands felt against his bare skin and especially the way her fingers slid through his body hair.

"Oh Micky, are you wanting some special birthday attention, love?" She asked in a playful tone. He grinned and nodded. He wasn't sure what she had in mind or which end of him it involved but he would take anything she wanted to give him and as much of it as she was willing to give.

She allowed her hand to slip down his unbuttoned shorts and began fingering his package. He felt a tingle as he quickly got a boner. He began to breathe a little heavier. She proceeded to give him a hand job in the privacy of their little pop up beach cabana. With each pump of her hand, she noticed his feet were twitching just a bit and his knees were moving. It seemed that some muscles in his legs were contracting in response to the stimulation she was providing.

"Keep going' Micky begged as Selene slowed down a little to observe the twitching of his toes and other movement. She continued to pump him until he told her to stop before there was a mess to clean up. Somehow having her stop just before he finished provided an interesting sensation but she still wasn't done. In one slick move, she undone her shorts. The next thing he knew, he was inside of her and she was finishing him with one fluid motion followed by another never missing a beat.

He moaned quietly through heavy breathing in pleasure as he let himself fall back onto the sand fully enjoying all the things she was doing to him. She came down on top of him covering his body with hers, leaning in to kiss him on the mouth while her lower body brought him to orgasm and finished him. Just on the end of it, he felt her close in around him while he was inside of her. She had managed to hug his penis with her vagina.

"Happy birthday, stud." She whispered to him as she flashed him that gorgeous smile of hers on her way back down toward his face. She fell into a naturally passionate kiss.

For a brief moment, time stood still and she saw the look of his youth come back into his eyes. She could see that same look of love that a man gets the first time he is truly in love with a woman. She could picture them doing this a lot had she lived in another place and time for many, many years. It was perfect. She fell in love with this man over again every day and more each day than the day before.

As he lay there underneath her in the beach cabana, he was still thankful for each and every time she loved him. Good things like this were exactly once in a lifetime. This was his once. At his age, he wouldn't get another chance like this to be loved by someone like her. In fact, age had nothing to do with it. He would never find someone like Selene if he had been given a thousand lifetimes to live and search for true love like this.

"I love you honey." He said as he pulled her in close to him, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her hair. They were body to body. Her head rested on his chest as she returned his embrace. She could hear his heart beating. It was beating for her.

The two of them remained wrapped up in each other's arms for what seemed like forever until all of the warm fuzzies of sex finally wore off and they felt like moving again and composing themselves.

"What else did you bring in the basket?" Micky asked as he eyeballed the somewhat large picnic basked that Selene had placed off to the side just out of immediate reach and to the left of a small cooler she had also brought along that he had somehow not noticed until just now.

She smiled sweetly looking at the basket and then back at him.

"That's your birthday surprise." She said as she moved the basket a little closer.

Micky couldn't remember a time recently when he had actually enjoyed or looked forward to a birthday. In fact, his last few had been terrible if not completely disastrous in nature and certainly nothing he wanted to remember or look back on fondly. This was mostly due to his prior addiction issues and primarily his ex wife's way of making his life miserable at every occasion that was supposed to be happy. She had a way about her of completely and totally wrecking even the smallest things.

He remembered his last birthday he had attempted to celebrate while they were still together. She got upset about some petty thing before they even left the house which resulted in a heated argument causing him to leave the house without her at which point he got completely plastered-to-the-wall drunk and then snorted a handful of pills for an additional buzz. He didn't remember much of that birthday other than the fact he had woke up in what seemed to be a really sleazy hotel somewhere an hour or so from his house. He returned several days later to find his house emptied of everything he remembered that was there when he left, his wife gone and a letter on table advising him that she was going to divorce him and he would be hearing from her attorney in the near future.

It hadn't been a pleasant time at all in his life but this time with Selene had made up for all of it and then some. She took away all of the pain of his past life and replaced it with love and compassion. The last time someone went out of their way to do anything simple and kind to celebrate his birthday was his mother and that was years ago before she passed away. It tugged at his heartstrings just a bit that Selene, in some ways, reminded him of his mom.

"What's wrong?" Selene asked for the second time, moving close enough to place her hand on Micky's shoulder.

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking about something, that's all." He said as he was brought back to the moment after he apparently zoned out thinking about things in his past life.

"I was just getting ready to get your birthday surprise out." She said, turning around to the basket and removing something in a covered container.

She handed it to him. It was cold. He took the lid off revealing a small cake for two decorated in a traditional Mexican design that read "Happy Birthday" in bright rainbow letters across the top. It was a dark chocolate cake and the base icing was cream cheese. Selene reached over before Micky knew what was happening and stuck a candle in the middle of the cake, lit it and told him "Make a wish, love."

He smiled at her before blowing out the candle, closing his eyes and making his wish.

 _"I wish she will always be by my side and never leave me."_ He said silently to himself.

She then brought out a vintage bottle of local wine and two wine glasses from the cooler.

Micky set the cake aside as she handed him the bottle of wine and the corkscrew.

"Let me get that." He said as he twisted the corkscrew into the cork removing it from the bottle like an expert. He was a pro at that. Selene had never been able to properly remove the cork from a wine bottle without a bit of a struggle.

He poured some of the wine in both glasses and held his up toward Selene.

"To us on my birthday, to the woman I love and to many more happy times." He said as they clinked the glasses together in a toast. He took a sip of the wine. It was exceptional. Selene had also packed a cheese that she had paired with the wine and pulled that out of the cooler. They were skipping cake altogether for now.

Micky picked up a cheese cube and fed it to Selene as she followed it with a sip of wine and returned the same gesture to Micky. The beach was quiet except for the sounds of the waves rolling in and out and a gentle breeze once in a while. Once all the wine was gone and the cheese had been eaten, they revisited the birthday cake. It was nothing short of sinfully delicious. Maybe it was even better because they were both a bit tipsy from the wine.

Selene wiped Micky's face gently with the pad of her thumb and smiled at him before licking the icing off her finger.

"You had a little icing on your face, love." She said with that infectious giggle of hers that managed to come out when she was truly enjoying herself.

After the cake was gone, they decided to go on a walk down the beach. Everything was packed back up onto the buggy as it was when they arrived.

"Wanna go down that way?" Micky said pointing further down the beach."

"Yeah, let's go check it out." Selene replied as she headed in that direction pushing the beach buggy along with Micky.

They traveled quite a distance down the beach from their rental never passing another person along the way. It was very secluded and private. They liked having the whole beach to themselves. It was a very welcome feeling to just be able to do whatever they wanted to do without the feeling of being scrutinized by anyone who might be hanging around the area. Micky could just be himself in this setting. It was very relaxed. She had noticed a welcome change in his personality since they had arrived. He was in fact a great deal more relaxed, more easy going and more laid back.

That evening when they returned to the rental, Micky suggested that they partake in the hot tub for a while and further relax. Selene agreed and was looking forward to that. Micky got in before Selene as per his usual preference. She followed him shortly after at which point he motioned for her to assume her position in his arms so that he could hold her while they enjoyed the bubbles and heated water. She slipped one arm around his neck and let the other fall loosely around his waist letting her head rest on his shoulder. This was her favorite position. She felt safe in his arms and loved.

The bubbles pulsed around them for nearly a half hour before the auto shut off caused them to cease. Micky and Selene had spent the entire time cuddling with each other in an unspoken language of love only achieved by a few.

Later that evening, Micky had already got into bed and was doing his usual channel surfing rather than watching any one single program on the television in the bedroom. The TV was muted. He seemed to like that better than having the volume up. He was dressed in nothing but his boxers under the covers and lay there on the pile of pillows bare-chested when Selene came into the room from the master bath. She wore a cute little night gown that was soft blue in color, featured spaghetti straps and looked very flattering on her all the while.

She crawled up on the bed with Micky and got underneath the covers snuggling close to him. He put his arm around her in a welcoming embrace.

"I have something for you." She told him as she produced a small box with a black ribbon neatly tied around it.

He took the box holding it in his hand as if to try to figure out what its contents were before he opened it. He took its size, shape and weight into consideration before finally tugging at the black ribbon that secured the box.

Once the ribbon came off, he revealed a sterling silver necklace with a silver arrowhead pendant. This was very nice but not something he would have normally worn or picked out for himself. Selene knew this and proceeded to tell him the story behind it.

"It was dad's." She said after a brief silence. "He got it a long time ago on one of his trips that afforded him the opportunity to visit an Indian reservation. It's handmade." She told him.

By this time he had taken the necklace out of the box to further examine it. It was shiny and looked like new.

"When daddy got sent off to the other side of the world on his last deployment, he gave it to me. I had always liked it and I've had it ever since." She continued.

A soft smile came across Micky's face as she told him the origin of this piece of jewelry he now held in his hands.

"I wanted you to have it and wear it. My dad gave it to me to remember him by and I want you to have it now." She said as she took it from him, reached around his neck and hooked the clasp so that he was now wearing the arrowhead necklace.

"You know, there's a legend that goes with this. Whoever wears it will experience good luck and happiness in life." She finally told him as she played with the necklace and positioned it just right on his chest.

He stole a kiss just then. She was in exactly the right position for him to brush his lips up against hers and take her face in his hand.

After he kissed her, he told her "I love it and I'll wear it always."

He turned the TV off and continued to cuddle under the covers holding her until they both fell asleep.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

* * *

Big gray clouds sprawled across the sky. There was no sun to be seen. It was a gray and gloomy day outside on the beach. Not a particularly great day to go walking on the beach plan outside activities. In fact, the wind was getting up a bit too and a storm was threatening to split this gray sky wide open at any moment.

Micky cracked open his eyes and looked around the room toward the large window that normally had a pristine view of the ocean outside. The gray skies and impending storm looked depressing. He turned to look at the digital clock on the night stand beside the bed. It was 7:19 AM.

Selene was nowhere to be found at the moment. She usually woke up much earlier than Micky and went on about her day until he was ready to get up. The couple had settled into a good routine of things since they'd been together.

Micky didn't hear anything, the house was quiet. As he sat up in bed, pushing himself up with his arms into a sitting position then resting against a pillow, he noticed something odd. Something felt different. He threw back the covers revealing his legs that he had had little or no control over for so long since the accident and his spinal injury. They were still there but he realized that he had sensation in both legs. He had felt the covers over his legs, he felt it move against his toes and he felt the cool air on his skin when he threw the covers back.

In somewhat of a state of disbelief, he reached down and ran his fingers down his left leg as far as he could reach. It felt exactly like the sensation of fingers on his leg. He could feel his own touch exactly as it was before his horribly violent accident caused the injury that left him in a wheelchair.

As he sat there on the bed looking at his two legs like they'd only recently reattached themselves back to his body, he was almost in a state of shock and disbelief. He continued by touching his right leg in the same manner that he had touched his left leg. The sensation was there just as it had been before.

He then had the sudden realization that he hadn't checked what really mattered-he ran his hand down his shorts and touched everything in his pants. There was full sensation there too. This excited him. He still didn't hear anything in any other part of the house. Selene was either being very quiet or she had went out for something at the local market she had found earlier.

"Selene!" He hollered out through the house to see if he got a response. Nothing. Everything was quiet. She must have went out.

Micky wondered what else had magically come back to him overnight. He found himself wondering if he could actually walk. He knew that he needed to do more therapy and tone his muscles a bit more in order to be able to walk for any normal period of time but he should be able to attempt standing up for just a bit to see whether or not he had that kind of control back.

Slowly, he moved to the edge of the bed into a sitting position. The cool air chilled his bare skin. He was wearing nothing but boxer shorts. Goosebumps covered his shoulders as his feet touched the floor. The floor felt cold. He could actually feel the cold floor on his toes.

He had nothing to hold on to in order to steady himself except his wheelchair that was conveniently near the bed so that he could access it when he woke up. he pulled it toward him and turned it around so that he was behind it. He set the brake on the wheels so that they'd be locked and the chair wouldn't move. After that he took a deep breath and pushed himself off the bed into a standing position. His legs felt weak and trembled but he was standing behind the wheelchair on his own without braces and without anyone else's help.

After no more than ten seconds, he let himself fall back to the bed. His legs just weren't up to continuing to stand. He would continue to use the wheelchair as he worked toward walking normally again. this gave him new hope to work harder toward his goal of eventually walking and becoming whole again.

He wiggled his toes as he sat on the side of the bed. Watching his own toes wiggle was strangely satisfying. He had never taken this much interest in his toes before. He noticed his toenails needed clipping. He usually didn't even have to ask. Selene took care of that for him when he needed it and he hadn't previously been able to really feel her touch when she was doing it.

Micky's heart was pounding with excitement after the events that had just taken place. He was still in a state of disbelief. He prayed that this wasn't a dream and that he wouldn't wake up to find himself still paralyzed from the waist down.

Once he gathered his thoughts, he put himself in the wheelchair and moved to the bathroom. He picked up some clothes on the way. He needed to clean up and shower.

Steam rolled up as the shower warmed up. Micky was letting it run to get hot. He liked a hot shower. It would feel especially good today since it was a bit chilly outside. He put himself on the shower chair and let the water cover his body. As it ran down into the drain, he could feel it on every part of his body. He was mindfully taking in every sensation at this time. Enjoying it, noting it, trying to determine if there was any part of his body that did not feel the warmth of the water.

Normally when he took showers, he always ended up thinking about where the feeling stopped-at his waist. Then he would look down at that space between sensation and no sensation, sometimes he would finger his balls and penis and get no response from it because there was no sensation. This morning, he decided to try that. He grabbed it in his hand with a bit of confidence and began stroking it. Before too long, it got hard and he managed to jack off in the shower. He hadn't done that in quite a while. He longed for Selene. He wanted to have sex with her. He wanted to bed her properly. He had been waiting so long. He had been glad earlier that he was able to get a boner for her and that she was able to please herself with him but it was his turn now.

Micky finished his shower, dried off and got dressed then went out to see what was going on in the rest of the house. In the kitchen, there was a note from Selene:

"I've went to the local market to get some things. Took the car. I'll be back soon. Love you, Selene."

Micky decided to grab a light breakfast. He made some toast and used some of the honey and jam that was sitting on the kitchen counter. He also made some coffee. Selene had found some local coffee at the market that they both had come to really enjoy. Micky took the coffee back to the TV and proceeded to watch some morning news programs as he sipped the coffee.

"The doctor said it could come back quickly or a little at a time." Micky thought to himself as he once again ran his hand across his thigh while he sat watching television. The sensation was still there. He even sat the coffee cup down on his leg to feel its warmth for a bit.

After finishing the coffee, he sat the cup aside and decided to attempt standing again. He was in front of the couch with the wheelchair nearby if he needed to hold onto something. He didn't feel anything could go wrong. He slowly pushed himself up using the wheelchair to steady himself on his two feet. Once again, his legs began to shake under the pressure of his body weight and feel like they could give way. He continued to stand as long as his body would let him then fell back on the couch behind him, exhausted from the effort.

He heard something outside and then soon thereafter, the door open and footsteps.

"Selene, is that you?" He called out as he moved into the wheelchair and headed toward the sound.

"Yeah, I'm home." She answered as she made her way into the small kitchen with an armful of bags that she had brought from the market. She had bought all kinds of local produce and items to eat.

Once she emptied her arms, she sat down on Micky's lap and kissed him good morning.

"I missed you while I was gone." She whispered in his ear as she ran her fingers through his hair, still damp from his earlier shower.

He held her close and hugged her next to him. He couldn't wait to tell her what was going on but he wanted to make sure that it stayed that way and that it wasn't going to be one of those things that comes and goes. He didn't want to get her hopes up.

They would be heading home in a few days. Although it would be difficult, he was going to feel it out and see what happened before he told her.

They put away the items she bought from the local market and spent most of their day inside watching television and cooking until the storm arrived. Wind and rain battered the windows for several hours. Lightning bolted and streaked across the horizon lighting up the sky and back lighting the rain as it fell. It was something spectacular to watch at times.

The storm lasted well into the night. Selene had prepared a cheese tray with crackers and other finger foods while Micky got ready for bed. He crawled into bed in nothing but underwear and pulled the covers up as he patiently waited for Selene. She brought the tray of finger foods and placed it on Micky's lap. He was propped up with pillows. She changed into her pretty silk lingerie that he had bought her a while back and came to join him. They shared the food as they watched the storm over the ocean in total darkness. Micky held her close to his body until they both fell asleep peacefully.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The Man Next Door

The first light of morning was beginning to find its way into the house as Selene ran around making sure that everything was packed up properly, that they didn't forget anything and that the final cleaning was completed before they left the rental to head out on the long drive ahead of them back home. It was a good thing they were both well rested from their medical tourism vacation. The drive ahead would prove to be a long and tiring one.

Micky, likewise, helped make sure that things were packed up and picked up. He wheeled himself through the door that was propped open and out to the Mercedes. Selene had brought it around near the door for easy loading.

Micky put one of the suitcases in the trunk and slid it around so that they could put more items in on top of it. Selene came out with two more bags and added those. That left one last suitcase and some other miscellaneous things.

Selene returned inside to get those items Micky decided that it would be a good thing to start the car and crank up the air conditioner so that it would be comfortable when they left. He reached in and started the car. The dash lit up and came alive as it idled almost silently. He pressed a button on the dash to adjust the climate and then turned a knob so that the blower came on high.

"Everything's out now." Selene said as she made her way to the car with the last of the items from inside. Micky approached her and placed the last suitcase on his lap in order to help her out with the load. These items also went into the trunk of the car also.

Micky was already around to the passenger side of the car moving from his chair to the seat. Selene leaned over to fold the chair and while doing so, she leaned in a little more and kissed Micky on the cheek. He turned from putting on the seat belt and a glimmer flashed across his brown eyes. She could tell that he hadn't been expecting that sweet little gesture of love. She never missed an opportunity to let him know that she loved him.

She put the chair in the trunk on top of everything else, shut the lid and then got into the car.

Micky and Selene drove for several hours before they needed to stop to gas up the car. It was reasonably good on gas for what it had under the hood. They rolled into a small town in the late afternoon for some food, a rest from driving and some fuel.

While Selene was putting fuel in the car, Micky was consulting his mobile phone over the WiFi that was available per the advertisement near the gas pump to find lodging. By the time Selene filled the tank and paid for the fuel and their snacks, he had pulled up a location a few hours up the road for them to spend the night.

"How's this look? he asked handing her the phone.

"Looks good to me" She replied, giving him the phone back. "Do we know how to get there from here?" She asked?

"Sure, it's just a few hours up the road. We should get there just before dark and we can relax for a while and rest up for the rest of the drive tomorrow." Micky said as he leaned back in his seat preparing for the next leg of the tour.

Selene had brought a paper bag with her out of the store. It had some soft drinks in it and several different kinds of munchies for them to enjoy. She cracked open the soft drink. It hissed as she let the air off it before completely twisting off the lid. She could smell the fizzy coming off it at the moment she opened it. The soft drink ended up between her legs even though there was a cup holder in the console within reach. She was just used to putting drinks there from driving a vehicle that didn't have cup holders in convenient locations and other common amenities. Micky smiled quietly to himself. He found these little oddities about her adorable.

She rummaged again in the paper bag and pulled out a bag of jerky and some string cheese then handed the rest of the bag to Micky.

She ripped the top off the jerky bag and stuck a piece in her mouth.

"The rest of that is yours." She said to Micky through closed teeth holding the jerky setting the bag and its contents on his lap and starting the car with the other hand. The air conditioner had been off for less than ten minutes and the car was already heating up again to the point of being uncomfortable.

They pulled out and headed further north up the road to the next location. It seemed like that next three hours took forever. There was a lot of nothing during this part of the drive. Businesses and towns were few and far between.

As the Mercedes quietly sped up the road, Micky and Selene chit chatted about their trip and how much they enjoyed it despite the fact that it was really a medical trip for Micky. This might have been an opportune time to let Selene know that sensation was coming back in the lower extremities but somehow, he just didn't want to jinx it just yet. He wanted to make sure and then make sure again that what was happening was really what he thought was happening. That it wasn't just his imagination or his mind's exaggeration. That thought scared him. The idea that he really may never be able to walk again scared him. He wanted that badly. He wanted it for himself and Selene.

The sun gradually faded behind them and the sky turned to dusk in front of them as the Mercedes continued moving down the lonely highway. They were the only car for miles. They seldom passed another vehicle.

"We should be coming up on our turn soon." Micky finally said to Selene after consulting a map that he had stuffed in the door pocket of the car.

"Good, I can't wait to stretch my legs." She said and then yawned.

"I'll help you stretch your legs." Micky said with a sly look on his face. He clearly had other things in mind.

Selene smiled at him and didn't say a word. That usually meant she was in the mood and she would be all over him first chance she got. It would be a good night.

The lights up ahead illuminated the small parking lot at the hotel up ahead. They saw it before they arrived there because there was nothing else lit up around them for miles.

"There it is up ahead." Micky said as he pointed to the lights.

Selene approached the parking lot and turned in. There were only a few cars parked there. It looked like a nice place. The lighting was both ambient and well positioned for practical purposes. The place was in the middle of the desert but it looked like a nice place. It was a three story building that had antique Spanish features and a stucco exterior.

The front door and lobby looked welcoming as they drove by and parked the car in a space not too far from the door that allowed room for Micky to enter and exit the vehicle.

Micky and Selene entered the lobby together to find a rather small stature Mexican man at the desk. He seemed jovial and happy to see people as he welcomed them. He took their information and provided them a room key and directions to their room. He was kind enough to give them a room on the ground level.

Micky unlocked the door and went into the room first. Selene followed him. The decor was absolutely vibrant! It was beautifully decorated with a tile floor and a few rugs for comfort on either side of the king size bed that sprawled in the middle of the room. There were Serape blankets lying across the bed along with some large fluffy pillows along the top.

"Wow" Selene exclaimed as she eyeballed the room.

"I'll go get a bag from the car and bring our things in for the night. Wait here." Micky told her as he made his way back through the lobby and to the parking lot.

He still couldn't stop thinking about the what if's of his potentially improving condition. He was regaining some sensation in the lower part of his body. He could feel touch, he could move his toes and he could probably manage to go through the motions of actually walking at this point if he really concentrated and tried hard.

He still wasn't ready to let Selene know yet just in case the situation reversed its self. He wanted to consult his doctor when he returned home first.

He lugged the suitcase out of the trunk of the car and onto his lap then returned to the room. Selene had already fully made her way around the room and checked out every little thing. She had even pulled the covers back and prepared the bed for them.

"Thank you love." She said as he closed the door upon return with a sweet smile.

He acknowledged as he moved their suitcase to the stand near the bed and opened it to find something comfortable to sleep in.

"I'm going to take a quick shower." Selene said as she headed to the small bathroom at the end of the unit.

"Ok, sounds good. Micky said as he continued moving items in the suitcase around and rearranging them until it was neatly arranged again. He had already handed her some comfortable PJs and found himself some underwear and shorts.

He turned on the TV and engaged in his favorite pastime, channel surfing. It was around 9 PM so there were still lots of shows on to watch. None of them were in English though which made for an amusing experience.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Selene had already recognized a problem. It wasn't accessible at all. There was an old bathtub with a shower, a sink and a commode. All of these items were in close proximity to one another which wouldn't allow Micky access at all in his chair. He wouldn't be able to get close enough. As the shower whined with water pressure when the fawcet was turned on and steam began to rise up toward the unusually powerful little exhaust fan on the ceiling, she thought the matter over and tried to work out how she would be able to get Micky in and out of the bathroom.

Most of the time these little hotel showers didn't have too much hot water available but this one was exceeding expectations. Selene was really taking her time to enjoy the shower after her long drive earlier. Showers relaxed her quite considerably.

Micky, still channel surfing, had managed to locate some more snacks that he was munching on while watching the TV. He was patiently waiting for his turn in the bathroom not yet realizing the problem that Selene had only just became aware of earlier.

Just then the door opened and Selene emerged. She looked hot with wet hair as she dried it with a towel and made her way across the room.

"I think we have a bit of a problem." She stated rather matter of factly. " and continued as Micky muted the TV and gave her his full attention. "I dont think you're going to be able to get in there even if I help you. Everything's too close together. It's really small and there's not really a way that you can get to the shower." She said, some concern in her voice.

Micky sat there thinking for a moment. "Well, I'm sure it will be ok. I'll have a look at it and see what I can come up with." He replied "I've been in worse situations. I'm sure there's a way." He said, trying to be as carefree as possible about the issue.

He went to the bathroom to take a look at the situation and quickly assessed the problems therein. He couldn't get his wheelchair into the bathroom, it wouldn't fit between the sink and toilet and therefore couldn't move to the back wall where the shower was located. Realizing that they were in a country where disabled access wasn't really a consideration, he knew that there wouldn't likely be a handicap accessible room option and he would have to work with what he had.

"I think I can make this work." He said from the bathroom to Selene as the wheels in his mind began to turn.

"Ok, let me know if you need me. I'll be right here." She said, not wanting to offer help if he really didn't need it. It sounded like he had things under control anyway.

This was it. Micky would have to move himself if he planned on using the bathroom in any capacity. He managed to move the chair so that he could transfer from it onto the toilet. He was able to close the door but that did not leave him too much room to move around.

Selene was only half watching the television in the room. Her interest was with Micky and his safety using the inaccessible bathroom.

In the bathroom, Micky, still sitting in his wheelchair, was having a moment of truth. He could attempt to move himself from the chair to the toilet or from the chair to the edge of the tub but he ran a huge risk of falling. He didn't want that. He had decided that he would just undress, take a sponge bath and freshen up a little bit then attempt to use the bathroom before going to bed. That didn't sound like too much.

There was a knock at the door. Suddenly, Micky jolted back from within his own mind and thoughts when he heard the sound.

"Hey, are you ok in there?" Selene asked from outside the door.

Micky stuttered a little before he managed a "yes, love, I'm just fine." and realized that he had been sitting there thinking for what seemed like quite a long time. "Be out soon." he followed up, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Ok, I'm still here if you need me." She told him.

He heard her walking back into the room away from the door.

He locked the wheelchair so that it wouldn't move when he moved. He was able to move his feet from the foot rests to the floor without issue. "Great. that's working like it should." He could feel the floor tile. It was cold underneath his bare feet. He absorbed that feeling for a bit before he made his next attempt to move. One hand on the sink vanity and the other on the chair, he managed to push himself up and quickly grip the vanity with both hands.

For a split second he felt shooting pain from the bottoms of his feet up his legs but then he was able to steady himself and get his bearings. He was doing quite a bit of work with his arms but he was standing on his own feet and he could feel the muscle fatigue coming from where he hadn't used his muscles in a while. He didn't know how long he would be able to hold the position but he had already made up his mind that he was going to hold it as long as possible and lessen the load on his arms while increasing it on his legs.

He stared at himself in the mirror above the sink. This was the first time in a long time he had actually been able to stand in front of a mirror and look at himself. Not wanting to slip into a state of depression about his present condition, he decided to move away from the mirror. Perhaps attempting to use the toilet would be a better choice for him. He managed to get into position using the vanity and chair to steady himself and sit on the toilet. Once again, this was the first time in a long time that he had actually managed to do this without having to transfer from his wheelchair. As he sat there, he moved his legs so that his feet were positioned comfortably directly below his knees.

He could feel excitement building. He still didn't want to get too excited though. This could stop just as fast as it started. The stem cell implants might be working but he realized that they could stop at any time leaving him still partially unable to move but with sensation. He really wanted a full recovery or near full. He could be ok with having to use a cane or a walker or some other mobility device to walk but he didn't want to have to be in a wheelchair like he had been for the longest time.

As he moved back into the wheelchair, he found that he had some difficulty lifting his feet back onto the foot rest but he refused to lift his leg at the knee with his hand and set his feet there. He wanted to do it by moving his legs and eventually after several tries, he accomplished it.

"I'm all clean" Micky proclaimed as he moved to the other side of the bed and proceeded to transfer himself from the chair to the bed. Without realizing it, he lifted one leg up onto the bed with his hand and the other one just sort of came up naturally as if nothing was wrong with it.

Micky's eyes met Selene's just as she fixated on his right leg that had just put its self on the bed unassisted by him. Her mouth gaped open and her expression changed to excitement and happiness. There were no words but her face said it all.

Micky smiled.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 44

The Man Next Door

The first light of morning was beginning to find its way into the house as Selene ran around making sure that everything was packed up properly, that they didn't forget anything and that the final cleaning was completed before they left the rental to head out on the long drive ahead of them back home. It was a good thing they were both well rested from their medical tourism vacation. The drive ahead would prove to be a long and tiring one.

Micky, likewise, helped make sure that things were packed up and picked up. He wheeled himself through the door that was propped open and out to the Mercedes. Selene had brought it around near the door for easy loading.

Micky put one of the suitcases in the trunk and slid it around so that they could put more items in on top of it. Selene came out with two more bags and added those. That left one last suitcase and some other miscellaneous things.

Selene returned inside to get those items Micky decided that it would be a good thing to start the car and crank up the air conditioner so that it would be comfortable when they left. He reached in and started the car. The dash lit up and came alive as it idled almost silently. He pressed a button on the dash to adjust the climate and then turned a knob so that the blower came on high.

"Everything's out now." Selene said as she made her way to the car with the last of the items from inside. Micky approached her and placed the last suitcase on his lap in order to help her out with the load. These items also went into the trunk of the car also.

Micky was already around to the passenger side of the car moving from his chair to the seat. Selene leaned over to fold the chair and while doing so, she leaned in a little more and kissed Micky on the cheek. He turned from putting on the seat belt and a glimmer flashed across his brown eyes. She could tell that he hadn't been expecting that sweet little gesture of love. She never missed an opportunity to let him know that she loved him.

She put the chair in the trunk on top of everything else, shut the lid and then got into the car.

Micky and Selene drove for several hours before they needed to stop to gas up the car. It was reasonably good on gas for what it had under the hood. They rolled into a small town in the late afternoon for some food, a rest from driving and some fuel.

While Selene was putting fuel in the car, Micky was consulting his mobile phone over the WiFi that was available per the advertisement near the gas pump to find lodging. By the time Selene filled the tank and paid for the fuel and their snacks, he had pulled up a location a few hours up the road for them to spend the night.

"How's this look? he asked handing her the phone.

"Looks good to me" She replied, giving him the phone back. "Do we know how to get there from here?" She asked?

"Sure, it's just a few hours up the road. We should get there just before dark and we can relax for a while and rest up for the rest of the drive tomorrow." Micky said as he leaned back in his seat preparing for the next leg of the tour.

Selene had brought a paper bag with her out of the store. It had some soft drinks in it and several different kinds of munchies for them to enjoy. She cracked open the soft drink. It hissed as she let the air off it before completely twisting off the lid. She could smell the fizzy coming off it at the moment she opened it. The soft drink ended up between her legs even though there was a cup holder in the console within reach. She was just used to putting drinks there from driving a vehicle that didn't have cup holders in convenient locations and other common amenities. Micky smiled quietly to himself. He found these little oddities about her adorable.

She rummaged again in the paper bag and pulled out a bag of jerky and some string cheese then handed the rest of the bag to Micky.

She ripped the top off the jerky bag and stuck a piece in her mouth.

"The rest of that is yours." She said to Micky through closed teeth holding the jerky setting the bag and its contents on his lap and starting the car with the other hand. The air conditioner had been off for less than ten minutes and the car was already heating up again to the point of being uncomfortable.

They pulled out and headed further north up the road to the next location. It seemed like that next three hours took forever. There was a lot of nothing during this part of the drive. Businesses and towns were few and far between.

As the Mercedes quietly sped up the road, Micky and Selene chit chatted about their trip and how much they enjoyed it despite the fact that it was really a medical trip for Micky. This might have been an opportune time to let Selene know that sensation was coming back in the lower extremities but somehow, he just didn't want to jinx it just yet. He wanted to make sure and then make sure again that what was happening was really what he thought was happening. That it wasn't just his imagination or his mind's exaggeration. That thought scared him. The idea that he really may never be able to walk again scared him. He wanted that badly. He wanted it for himself and Selene.

The sun gradually faded behind them and the sky turned to dusk in front of them as the Mercedes continued moving down the lonely highway. They were the only car for miles. They seldom passed another vehicle.

"We should be coming up on our turn soon." Micky finally said to Selene after consulting a map that he had stuffed in the door pocket of the car.

"Good, I can't wait to stretch my legs." She said and then yawned.

"I'll help you stretch your legs." Micky said with a sly look on his face. He clearly had other things in mind.

Selene smiled at him and didn't say a word. That usually meant she was in the mood and she would be all over him first chance she got. It would be a good night.

The lights up ahead illuminated the small parking lot at the hotel up ahead. They saw it before they arrived there because there was nothing else lit up around them for miles.

"There it is up ahead." Micky said as he pointed to the lights.

Selene approached the parking lot and turned in. There were only a few cars parked there. It looked like a nice place. The lighting was both ambient and well positioned for practical purposes. The place was in the middle of the desert but it looked like a nice place. It was a three story building that had antique Spanish features and a stucco exterior.

The front door and lobby looked welcoming as they drove by and parked the car in a space not too far from the door that allowed room for Micky to enter and exit the vehicle.

Micky and Selene entered the lobby together to find a rather small stature Mexican man at the desk. He seemed jovial and happy to see people as he welcomed them. He took their information and provided them a room key and directions to their room. He was kind enough to give them a room on the ground level.

Micky unlocked the door and went into the room first. Selene followed him. The decor was absolutely vibrant! It was beautifully decorated with a tile floor and a few rugs for comfort on either side of the king size bed that sprawled in the middle of the room. There were Serape blankets lying across the bed along with some large fluffy pillows along the top.

"Wow" Selene exclaimed as she eyeballed the room.

"I'll go get a bag from the car and bring our things in for the night. Wait here." Micky told her as he made his way back through the lobby and to the parking lot.

He still couldn't stop thinking about the what if's of his potentially improving condition. He was regaining some sensation in the lower part of his body. He could feel touch, he could move his toes and he could probably manage to go through the motions of actually walking at this point if he really concentrated and tried hard.

He still wasn't ready to let Selene know yet just in case the situation reversed its self. He wanted to consult his doctor when he returned home first.

He lugged the suitcase out of the trunk of the car and onto his lap then returned to the room. Selene had already fully made her way around the room and checked out every little thing. She had even pulled the covers back and prepared the bed for them.

"Thank you love." She said as he closed the door upon return with a sweet smile.

He acknowledged as he moved their suitcase to the stand near the bed and opened it to find something comfortable to sleep in.

"I'm going to take a quick shower." Selene said as she headed to the small bathroom at the end of the unit.

"Ok, sounds good. Micky said as he continued moving items in the suitcase around and rearranging them until it was neatly arranged again. He had already handed her some comfortable PJs and found himself some underwear and shorts.

He turned on the TV and engaged in his favorite pastime, channel surfing. It was around 9 PM so there were still lots of shows on to watch. None of them were in English though which made for an amusing experience.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Selene had already recognized a problem. It wasn't accessible at all. There was an old bathtub with a shower, a sink and a commode. All of these items were in close proximity to one another which wouldn't allow Micky access at all in his chair. He wouldn't be able to get close enough. As the shower whined with water pressure when the fawcet was turned on and steam began to rise up toward the unusually powerful little exhaust fan on the ceiling, she thought the matter over and tried to work out how she would be able to get Micky in and out of the bathroom.

Most of the time these little hotel showers didn't have too much hot water available but this one was exceeding expectations. Selene was really taking her time to enjoy the shower after her long drive earlier. Showers relaxed her quite considerably.

Micky, still channel surfing, had managed to locate some more snacks that he was munching on while watching the TV. He was patiently waiting for his turn in the bathroom not yet realizing the problem that Selene had only just became aware of earlier.

Just then the door opened and Selene emerged. She looked hot with wet hair as she dried it with a towel and made her way across the room.

"I think we have a bit of a problem." She stated rather matter of factly. " and continued as Micky muted the TV and gave her his full attention. "I dont think you're going to be able to get in there even if I help you. Everything's too close together. It's really small and there's not really a way that you can get to the shower." She said, some concern in her voice.

Micky sat there thinking for a moment. "Well, I'm sure it will be ok. I'll have a look at it and see what I can come up with." He replied "I've been in worse situations. I'm sure there's a way." He said, trying to be as carefree as possible about the issue.

He went to the bathroom to take a look at the situation and quickly assessed the problems therein. He couldn't get his wheelchair into the bathroom, it wouldn't fit between the sink and toilet and therefore couldn't move to the back wall where the shower was located. Realizing that they were in a country where disabled access wasn't really a consideration, he knew that there wouldn't likely be a handicap accessible room option and he would have to work with what he had.

"I think I can make this work." He said from the bathroom to Selene as the wheels in his mind began to turn.

"Ok, let me know if you need me. I'll be right here." She said, not wanting to offer help if he really didn't need it. It sounded like he had things under control anyway.

This was it. Micky would have to move himself if he planned on using the bathroom in any capacity. He managed to move the chair so that he could transfer from it onto the toilet. He was able to close the door but that did not leave him too much room to move around.

Selene was only half watching the television in the room. Her interest was with Micky and his safety using the inaccessible bathroom.

In the bathroom, Micky, still sitting in his wheelchair, was having a moment of truth. He could attempt to move himself from the chair to the toilet or from the chair to the edge of the tub but he ran a huge risk of falling. He didn't want that. He had decided that he would just undress, take a sponge bath and freshen up a little bit then attempt to use the bathroom before going to bed. That didn't sound like too much.

There was a knock at the door. Suddenly, Micky jolted back from within his own mind and thoughts when he heard the sound.

"Hey, are you ok in there?" Selene asked from outside the door.

Micky stuttered a little before he managed a "yes, love, I'm just fine." and realized that he had been sitting there thinking for what seemed like quite a long time. "Be out soon." he followed up, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Ok, I'm still here if you need me." She told him.

He heard her walking back into the room away from the door.

He locked the wheelchair so that it wouldn't move when he moved. He was able to move his feet from the foot rests to the floor without issue. "Great. that's working like it should." He could feel the floor tile. It was cold underneath his bare feet. He absorbed that feeling for a bit before he made his next attempt to move. One hand on the sink vanity and the other on the chair, he managed to push himself up and quickly grip the vanity with both hands.

For a split second he felt shooting pain from the bottoms of his feet up his legs but then he was able to steady himself and get his bearings. He was doing quite a bit of work with his arms but he was standing on his own feet and he could feel the muscle fatigue coming from where he hadn't used his muscles in a while. He didn't know how long he would be able to hold the position but he had already made up his mind that he was going to hold it as long as possible and lessen the load on his arms while increasing it on his legs.

He stared at himself in the mirror above the sink. This was the first time in a long time he had actually been able to stand in front of a mirror and look at himself. Not wanting to slip into a state of depression about his present condition, he decided to move away from the mirror. Perhaps attempting to use the toilet would be a better choice for him. He managed to get into position using the vanity and chair to steady himself and sit on the toilet. Once again, this was the first time in a long time that he had actually managed to do this without having to transfer from his wheelchair. As he sat there, he moved his legs so that his feet were positioned comfortably directly below his knees.

He could feel excitement building. He still didn't want to get too excited though. This could stop just as fast as it started. The stem cell implants might be working but he realized that they could stop at any time leaving him still partially unable to move but with sensation. He really wanted a full recovery or near full. He could be ok with having to use a cane or a walker or some other mobility device to walk but he didn't want to have to be in a wheelchair like he had been for the longest time.

As he moved back into the wheelchair, he found that he had some difficulty lifting his feet back onto the foot rest but he refused to lift his leg at the knee with his hand and set his feet there. He wanted to do it by moving his legs and eventually after several tries, he accomplished it.

"I'm all clean" Micky proclaimed as he moved to the other side of the bed and proceeded to transfer himself from the chair to the bed. Without realizing it, he lifted one leg up onto the bed with his hand and the other one just sort of came up naturally as if nothing was wrong with it.

Micky's eyes met Selene's just as she fixated on his right leg that had just put its self on the bed unassisted by him. Her mouth gaped open and her expression changed to excitement and happiness. There were no words but her face said it all.

Micky smiled.


End file.
